Entwined Souls
by Kuroshiroi
Summary: "I don't hate you, I just keep you at arms length because... I'm afraid to lose you, the only family I have left..." After being taken by an occult, Lizzy reappears 3 years later, her sunny demeanor gone and unable to smile. What will the Earl do when he realizes that he's falling in love with the new her?
1. Prologue

**A/N: I put up this story a while back and took it back down, I was really unhappy with it, but now I've improved it and here we are ^^ After I took this down I saw some fics pop up that sounded a lot like this .-. I don't know if they came up with it themselves, but I can honestly say that I made this up with no help from other fanfictions what-so-ever. Please, enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Prologue**

Ciel set down his paperwork on his desk and sighed, it seemed that Lady Elizabeth had arrived unexpectedly, and just when he'd started on an important document. He really did like his fiancée, but she tended to get on his nerves quite a bit, though he remembered that she only meant the best for him.

"Let her in." he grumbled, getting out of his chair and preparing himself for the affection only Lizzy could deliver.

"Cieeeel!" The young noble squealed as she swung her fiancé around for must have been the hundredth time.

Once she'd finished hugging, or as Ciel liked to say, smothering him, she turned to Sebastian.

"Oh, hello Sebastian! How are you?" Lizzy asked, her childish grin brightening the once dreary room.

Holding back a smirk at his master who was currently kneeling on the floor trying to overcome a wave of nausea, he replied with a hand on his heart, "I am very well, I thank your asking, my Lady."

The young mistress beamed and clapped her hands together, "Now, seeing as I've made everything _super _adorable, we'll have a ball t-"

"No, Elizabeth."

Lizzy looked over to Ciel, he had picked himself up off the floor and was brushing off his finely tailored suit.

"Ciel-" She was ready to intervene and convince Ciel to let her throw a ball, but was cut short by an angry tone.

"We are not having a ball tonight, understood?" Ciel spoke sternly, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

"C-Ciel, w-why are you so angry?" Tears started to brim in her bright emerald eyes, "I-I just wanted to make everything perfect and..."

The noble shrieked in frustration before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The loud slam of the door echoed throughout the manor, leaving behind an eerie echo. Once the Earl was sure that she was gone, he let his posture slip and brought a hand to his forehead.

"She's acting like a child, honestly." he sighed, slipping back into his office chair and laying his head back against the headrest as if the whole ordeal exhausted him.

"It looks like standing your ground wasn't the best idea, Young Master." Sebastian taunted, a smirk playing at his lips.

"And who's idea was it?" The teen asked rhetorically, to which the demon simply smirked wider, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't say that, Master, I was simply giving you advice," he said in mock hurt, "In fact, I'm surprised you took it, I'm honoured." He finished, laying a hand on his chest where his heart would be if he were human.

"Shut it."

"Yes, my Lord."

* * *

It turns out that Elizabeth had charged out of the mansion and stated very clearly that she wanted to be left alone. The three servants had tried to comfort her after hearing her cries and had come back in looking shell-shocked.

"She 'as one 'ell of a temper on 'er, it's kinda scary." The cook said to no-one in particular as the other two nodded their heads vigorously in agreement.

"You must understand that Lady Elizabeth has been brought up this way, she doesn't know any better." The head butler of the household stated, suppressing a smirk. _Humans are so very interesting, especially one's who seem to have no control over their emotions._

Just as Ciel was about to ignore the conversation going on between the servants and open the door to the front gardens, Finny grabbed his shoulder, a little too hard. Pain shot down his arm as he let out a small cry of distress. The Earl snapped his head round to glare at the gardener on instinct, who snatched his hand away quickly with a yelp.

"I-I'm sorry, Young Master, but I don't think she would really want to see you right now." He exclaimed, ducking his head down with shame.

"Lift your head, Finny. You've done no wrong." Ciel sighed, "It was an accident, after all."

All three of the servants immediately lit up and gushed with admiration.

"Young Master is so kind, yes he is!" Mey-Rin cried, clasping her hands together.

The young Lord pinched the bridge of his nose to try and release some of the pressure in his head, which was currently being caused by the cheers of the three idiots.

"Honestly, how many times has this happened now?" Ciel grumbled to himself, "Sebastian, call a carriage for her, she'll get over it eventually."

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the room darkened as Ciel's so-called 'kindness' went down the drain.

The butler raised an eyebrow, "You're not even going to attempt to comfort her, my Lord? That's not very befitting for a nobleman, now is it?"

The two stared each-other down for a few drawn-out seconds. It looked as if neither of them would look away until the young Earl finally admitted defeat.

He growled lowly, "...Get her inside, she'll catch her death out there."

Sebastian's seemingly plastered on smirk never faltered as he bowed lightly, "Yes, my young Lord."

* * *

Elizabeth sat on the grass of the front gardens, wiping away remnants of tears with one hand and picking at the grassy ground beneath her with the other. She listened to the servants' cheers from afar, they sounded like they were having fun. Wrapping her arms around herself as if to protect herself from the cold, she noticed a dark figure loom over her, She looked over her shoulder to look at the figure and for once, she hoped that it wasn't Ciel.

"Wha-" Her words where cut off with a gloved hand that prevented her from screaming. She was grabbed roughly by the hair and yanked up before being dragged and thrown into a near-by carriage. It was cramped and dark and even more freezing than the outside. Her thin legs were forcibly pressed into her ribs as she tucked them up against herself. The capturer tied a cloth around her mouth, tightening it to the point where it hurt and did the same with her wrists and ankles.

"Now, don't go making any noise, I wouldn't want to damage that pretty face of yours." The voice that came from the man was strangely calm and almost familiar.

Whimpering, Lizzy shuffled back as far as she could in the claustrophobic space, only to have the door slammed shut and her vision cut off completely. She wanted to scream, to call out for Ciel, the one person that could save her. She wanted to break free of the restraints and slam her fists against the carriage walls, shrieking at the top of her lungs, but she couldn't. She was helpless, like a fly in a spiders web. The carriage jolted to a start and rolled away from the Phantomhive manor.

* * *

Sebastian stepped out onto the front lawn and scanned the area, but couldn't pick up any trace of Elizabeth's presence. He searched high and low for the girl, he checked every place possible, occasionally using his demonic powers to try and sense her when he was sure that no-one was aware of him, but to no avail. Upon returning to the manor, he found that Ciel as well as the servants were expectantly awaiting his return, Lizzy in toll. They'd all agreed amongst themselves that they would stay in case their master was in need of backup.

"Well, where is she?" Ciel demanded, clearly annoyed at Lizzy's absence.

"Young Master, I'm afraid she'd gone."

The servants gasped, "Gone?!"

"Indeed."

Out of nowhere, Ciel's patience shattered into millions of pieces around him.

"You- you idiots!" He growled, turning to the worried-looking servants, "If you hadn't interrupted me with your stupid antics, I would have gotten to her in time!"

Mey-Rin, Bard and Finny stared in complete horror at their master. Even Sebastian looked slightly shocked at his master's actions, who knew such an explosion could come from such a tiny boy? His teeth were grit, his hands clenched so hard that his knuckles were turning white, he looked just about ready to punch one of them. After a few long, bone-crushing moments of silence, Finny suddenly broke out in a flood of tears, most likely at the realization at what he had done.

"I'm so sorry, Young Master! It's all my fault!" He sobbed, letting the tears flow freely down his face.

Usually, Ciel would've dismissed it and calmly given them orders to get back to their stations, but instead he stormed off to the drawing room. They'd really done it now. Sebastian left the servants to their own demises and headed towards the kitchen where an extensive smirk twisted his features.

"It looks like this has become another case for you to solve, my Lord."

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**A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!**


	2. Funeral

**A/N: I'm terribly sorry about the mistakes, this website keeps messing up my documents D: I can't reupload because the document was deleted,thanks for understanding and enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: Funeral**

Just six weeks had to pass before everyone had given up the search believing Elizabeth to be deceased, they had practically dumped the weight of the search on to Ciel's shoulders, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. The young Lord, who had turned fourteen a couple of weeks ago, was still searching, still collecting clues to her whereabouts, he wasn't one to give up easily after all. Even though Ciel refused to believe that Lizzy had been killed weeks ago, when it was announced that there was to be a funeral, he attended nonetheless.

He was surrounded by a lot of people, distant relatives probably, that were complete strangers to him, all sobbing into their silk and lace handkerchiefs. He'd told Sebastian to wait outside, he was going to get the service over and done with quickly enough, plus he didn't exactly want the demon to watch his slight discomfort around large groups of people, only to taunt him about it later, so for the time being he was by himself.

For the next ten minutes Ciel was stuck in a freezing, ancient church, sitting on a rock-hard bench listening to the cries of other people echo around the vast space of the building. Whilst he was in the situation of discomfort and slight anxiety, his heart still ached at the thought of never seeing Lizzy again or at least not for a long time. Once the Priest had finished droning on about how 'she will be happy and cared for in Heaven,' and how 'she's in a better place now,' like he'd recited it several times before, which, Ciel thought, he probably had, the coffin was opened. With there obviously being no body to occupy it, possessions and flowers were placed inside instead, along with a photo of Lizzy, taken just weeks before her kidnapping.

Ciel twisted the indigo ring that Elizabeth had given him to wear for their first ball around on his thumb. When the time came he slipped the ring off his digit and placed it in the palm of his hand, wrapping his fingers around it tightly, the metal cutting into his skin. The whole church lapsed into silence to listen to watch Elizabeth's fiancé; the Queen's Guard-dog, would say. Ciel strode confidently over to the alter, leaving the anxiety of being watched by at least fifty people behind him.

"Elizabeth, you know that I stand by my word, so believe me when I say this; I know you aren't dead and I promise that if- when you come back we can have the biggest ball you could imagine," He closed his eyes and smiled wryly, "You know, it's so quiet in the manor without you around," Opening his eyes, Ciel placed the ring as well as the rose adorning his suit next to the photo of Lizzy, "Do you remember the day you gave me this ring?" He lowered his voice so that nobody could hear, "The way I acted was disgraceful and- I'm sorry, I'm sorry for the day you disappeared too," Ciel raised his voice so it was audible, "Farewell, Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford, we shall meet again, whether it be in this life or the next."

The Earl didn't want to know what the reactions of the other nobles were, so he turned away from the coffin, exited the church and climbed into the awaiting carriage without looking back. Ciel lay his head back against the plush seats. He felt tears sting the back of his eyes, but didn't let them fall, his pride was far too great.

"That was quite a magnificent speech you gave in there, my Lord." Came the voice of Sebastian from the carriage door. He'd probably heart the whole thing, damn demon.

"Shut up." It was supposed to come out as a sharp demand, but sounded more like a weak croak. He threw one last retort at the butler as he shut the door, "It was all an act, bastard!"

Sebastian chuckled, "Those childish antics will get you nowhere, my Lord." He said _mostly _to himself.

"I heard that!"

* * *

Mey-Rin, Bard and Finny were all in the servants quarters, sat around the table with their chins resting on the surface, sulking. Finny gave a moan of anguish.

"You okay, Finny? Young Master really gave ya a good tellin' off back there." Bard commented, sitting up from his position.

"I guess..." The gardener replied softly, his voice extracted of all it's usual cheerfulness.

Mey-Rin suddenly jumped up, almost scaring the life out of the other two.

"It's not your fault, Finny! She could have been taken at any time, it was just a coincidence!" She exclaimed in an attempt to cheer the younger boy up, a frown on her lips.

"Ho, ho, ho." Tanaka agreed.

"I guess..." He repeated sinking further down into the chair.

"Poor lil' guy, that tellin' off really took it's toll on 'im." The cook sighed to Mey-Rin, who was staring dejectedly at the floor.

"We should go check on the young master, I bet he's calmed down plenty, yes I do!" She tried her hardest to sound cheerful as a determined look appeared on her face.

"That's right! C'mon, Finny." Bard joined in, hoisting the blonde up and practically dragging him out of the room.

The trio each took turns putting their ears to the door to try and figure out what Ciel was saying.

"Isn't it kind of wrong of us to be eavesdropping?" Finny whispered, supposedly free of the depression that had it's grasp on him earlier.

"It'll be fine. Besides, we're just making sure he's okay, right?" The maid reassured him, taking her turn at listening in to the conversation.

"I don't understand!" Ciel slammed his fist down on the desk, "There has to be some clue, she couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the earth!"

"Young Master, I'm afraid that acting like this will get you nowhere." Sebastian said calmly.

The Earl forced himself to relax and sipped at his favourite Earl Gray tea, "Have you got the list of suspects?"

"Yes, Sir." Sebastian handed over a scroll tied with a red ribbon.

Breathing out slowly, Ciel unravelled the paper and scanned over the list, there was hardly anyone he had heard of before and that made it more difficult to determine who might have an alibi.

"I have questioned them all and it seems that nobody on this list could be responsible-"

Ciel visibly tensed and scrunched his eyebrows together, "But that's impossi-"

"Ah, you didn't let me finish, Sir. Nobody on this list could be responsible _except the Viscount of Druitt._"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He exhaled sharply, "Don't answer that. Of course, who else but Viscount Druitt, that perverted bastard..." Ciel shuddered at the memory of the ball, he still remembered it well, even after all this time.

"How do you wish to approach this, my Lord?" The demon butler taunted, a knowing smirk plastered on his face.

"There's no way I'm dressing up as a girl again." Ciel growled, shooting daggers at the demon.

"_Again?_" Bard whisper-shouted, looking awfully confused.

"I wasn't suggesting that you should, but it _would _be the most tactical option-"

"_No._"

"But Young Master, surely it would-"

"You idiot, you know that we can't show our faces there, especially after Druitt seeing what he did."

"I doubt he can remember much."

"If you think it's such a good idea, why don't _you _dress up as a woman?!"

"If you order me to, I shall."

"PFFT"

"Bard, shut up!"

A devious smirk curled the young Lord's lip, widening as he imagined _Sebastian _of all people in a dress, all his dignity and pride torn to shreds, he had to hold back laughter.

"Young Master, did you hear that?" Sebastian asked, turning to face the exact door that the servants were hiding behind.

Ciel didn't reply, he was too busy either A: Trying not to throw up at the thought or B: Trying not to burst out laughing, so the butler decided that the best course of action would be to catch the trio red-handed and swung open the door. All three of them fell through the door and landed on top of each other before bursting into uncontrollable howls of laughter at the Earls previous statement. Sebastian, dressed as a girl? It was too good to be true! As they snickered about it some more, Sebastian, without warning, stamped down on each of their hands, _hard, s_tamping Bard's twice for good measure.

The three recomposed themselves, rubbing their sore hands, curtsied and left, tears of mirth mixed with tears of pain streaming down their faces.

Once Ciel was positive that they had left, he continued on with his earlier statement.

"Nobody is dressing up as the opposite gender, understood?" He tried to say sternly, but had no effect as the corner of his mouth was twitching, wanting to expand into a smile.

"Understood, Sir." Sebastian on the other hand was trying his hardest to burn holes into his masters head with his glare, "So what exactly _are _you planning to do?"

"Oh, I know exactly the person to do it for us." Ciel stated, the held-back smile transforming itself into a smirk as it spread across his face.

* * *

"No way! Last time you asked me to do something you never held up your end of the deal!" A certain redhead exclaimed, throwing her bright scarlet hair over her shoulder.

"Well, this time I will," Ciel huffed, "it's important."

"S-so I _will _get to kiss Bassy?" Grell swooned, "Oh I can imagine it now! So roman-" Her words were cut off with a swift blow to the gut, delivered by none other than Sebastian.

"Do we have a deal or not?" The young Earl asked, looking down at Grell who was currently kneeling on the floor.

"Just to spend a few minutes with Bassy, I would do anything!" The reaper jumped up, "What do I have to do?"

* * *

"Ah, so it's that Elizabeth girl again. I don't get why you would go that far for someone you don't even love." Grell said nonchalantly, inspecting her nails.

But he did love her.

Maybe not the way a person should love their fiancée, but he loved her nonetheless, if not as his lover, as his family. Of course, he couldn't tell them that, so he thought up an excuse on the spot.

"She's my fiancée, if I did nothing about her disappearance, surely my place in social status would plummet." He tried to speak as calmly as possible.

"I still don't understand and frankly I don't care, I'm just in it for the reward." She swooned at the last part, latching on to Sebastian's arm.

Said demon shot an icy glare at the reaper, warning her to let go or _else._ In response Grell detached herself with a nervous giggle and took a step away.

"Young Master, what exactly _is _the reward?" Sebastian spoke carefully, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. _Damn brat._

"He gets to kiss you."

"With tongue!" Grell intervened, clasping her hands together.

Ciel breathed a sigh, although he was enjoying watching his butler, usually so calm and composed, nearly lose his temper over such a trifle, "With tongue."

Whilst Grell squealed and practically melted to the floor, Sebastian visibly shuddered and cringed at the idea having to go anywhere near the 'red-headed freak', earning a muffled snort from Ciel.

_Despite the funeral, today has actually turned out to be rather amusing._

* * *

Master and butler watched with distressed looks as Grell strode over to them dressed in the flashiest red dress that was _almost _inappropriate to wear. The corset she was so obviously wearing actually made it look as if she had a figure and her hair was piled into a bun on top of her head, decorated with blood-red roses.

"What do you think, darlings?" She did a small twirl, "Am I gorgeous or am I gorgeous?" She grinned, showing off her shark-like teeth.

"You're going to have to act more like a lady to catch the Viscount's attention, I doubt your looks will." Sebastian taunted, venting the frustration of the day onto Grell.

"Oh Bassy! Love is so cold!" Said reaper swooned, "I'll need a kiss to heal this wound!" She puckered her lips with a wink making Sebastian grimace in return.

"I'm not going to _kiss _you, Grell." He said the word 'kiss' like poison on his tongue.

Grell hummed thoughtfully, "Then the deal's off."

Ciel blanched, "W-what?!"

Sebastian practically sighed in relief.

The young Lord put a hand to his forehead, "Sebastian."

"My Lord?"

"This is an order," Ciel pulled at the string of his eyepatch, causing it to come loose and reveal his contracted eye, "kiss Grell." The purple pentagram glowed brightly, illuminating the darkness around him.

It had finally happened. The words Sebastian thought, _hoped _would never pass his masters lips had been spoken. He was about ready to take the brats soul right there and then. Sebastian's aura flared up around him casting a dark shadow tinted with purple, "Yes, my Lord."

Whilst Grell was expecting a full blown kiss, Sebastian simply gave her a quick peck on the cheek. It wasn't what the reaper would have liked, but it was enough to send her toppling to the floor, pools of pink flooding her face. Ciel half-expected his butler to begin the childish act of scraping his tongue to dispose of any germs he may have picked up, but instead he stood dead still, his aura still flaring and his eyes glowing fuchsia. Ciel had really done it now.

"So, the deal's back on." Ciel stated, looking down at the reaper for the second time.

"Oh Bassy! Give me another!" Grell reached her arms out and flung himself at the demon who easily ducked out of the way, sending Grell sailing over his head and landing with a 'thump'.

"My Lord, shall I avenge Madame Red for you?" Sebastian smirk-glared, cracking his knuckles.

"I think you should." Ciel replied, re-tying his eyepatch.

Grell laughed nervously, getting up from the floor for a third time, "T-that won't be necessary, L-let's get on, shall we?"

As soon as Ciel sighed and nodded his head Grell started up on her usual antics again;

"Just a taste has left me craving for more, if I don't get it I'll just die!" She finished with her signature sign, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth.

"Now, Grell." The sharp tone of the Earl snapped the reaper back to reality, "Act calmer and stand straighter." Ciel instructed. Sebastian wasn't going to do it, he was too busy wallowing in his own self pity.

Grell hesitated to take orders from a 'brat', but calmed and lifted her chin, straightening her back.

"Your voice..." Ciel trailed off in thought.

"Hey! What's wrong with my voice?!" The reaper asked incredulously, her mouth forming a pout.

"Speak in a higher pitch or something." Ciel'd had enough lessons on how to be a lady from the last time he was at Druitt's mansion and he honestly couldn't believe he was passing them on.

The redhead cleared her throat, "Like this?" She inquired perfectly imitating a young lady's voice.

Ciel and Sebastian's eyes both widened in surprise, she'd obviously had a lot of practice, but if she could speak like that then why didn't she use that voice all the time?

"Yes..." The teen spoke slowly, "Now you just have to keep it up for all of the ball."

Just as Grell was about to enter the mansion, she suddenly remembered something;

"Is not a lady attending a ball without a man to court her rather scandalous?"

Sebastian tensed, he already knew what was coming and held his arm out for Grell to take, a closed-eye smile frozen on his face, "Shall we enter, my Lady?"

Ciel watched with a detached interest as the reaper gushed and almost fainted on the spot before being led into the manor.

"Let's just hope that Viscount Druitt can't tell the difference between a lady and," he grimaced, "_that._"

* * *

**A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!**


	3. Dance With The Devil

**A/N: Thanks a ton for the continued support! It seriously brightens my day and I look forward to reading your reviews! c:**

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**Chapter 2: Dance With the Devil**

Grell had finally done it. She'd gotten Sebastian to dance with her. They glided across the dance floor, a whirlwind of red and black, their movements swift and graceful. Grell spotted something out of the corner of her eye; black, sleek hair, a black suit and piercing yellow-green eyes. The reapers giddy expression was quickly replaced with one of fear.

"What might be the matter, my Lady?" Sebastian asked, a faux smile gracing his face for anyone who might be watching.

"Um, Will's here," She swallowed, "and he's coming straight towards us..." Sebastian followed Grell's gaze to meet the blade-sharp stare of the younger reaper.

"Vermin..." Will was now standing in front of them, his cold expression unchanging.

Grell let go of Sebastian as she jumped and laughed nervously, "W-Will!" She exclaimed, making sure that her voice was still adequate for a lady.

William _almost _looked puzzled, "What's wrong with your voice?" The redhead broke out in a nervous sweat as people started to stare.

"May I ask that you kindly stay out of our business and we shall stay out of yours." Sebastian said coolly, his glare holding Williams'.

The reaper ignored the butlers warning and adjusted his oh-so-beloved spectacles, "Why on earth are _you _here, dressed like that? And with demon scum, no less." More people joined to watch the converse between the two males, which was rapidly turning into a sour argument. The mutters of the confused spectators filled the room.

"Will, please! I haven't held up my end of the deal yet!" Grell begged, her voice reverting back to 'normal'. The mumbling and whispering of the crowd continued to get increasingly louder.

"What does he mean 'demon scum'?"

"Is that a man? How shameful!"

"Maybe they're a part of some strange occult."

"No, you're coming with me. I don't need more overtime." Will finally stated after flashing a disapproving glance at the party-goers.

Sebastian smiled closed-eye at the redhead, "Grell, come with me."

Grell made a series of strange squealing noises and gushed, "Oh! Two gorgeous men fighting over me! It's too much!"

Reaper and demon sighed in sync.

"If you're not going to give him to me willingly, I'll have to use force," He adjusted his glasses with his scythe,"And I was so hoping I wouldn't run into you here." Sebastian gave what looked like a apologetic smile and ducked the blow delivered by scythe. People started to panic and hurry out of the mansion after the first blow, many nearly tripping over themselves as they tumbled through the exit. Grell watched in awe as the two men fought. A reaper versus a demon, a death scythe versus _cutlery._

_Surely Bassy couldn't win against my Will, _Grell thought, _but he is pretty skilled. _Sebastian dodged the cracks of the scythe as quickly as Will supplied them, by now everyone had cleared out of the mansion in fear that they may be the next target.

Ciel closed his eyes and leaned against the wall of the manor. They were taking way too long.

"Somebody, help!" Came a fearful woman's voice.

"They're madmen!" Came a just as troubled males voice. Watching as a stream of people flooded through the entrance of the manor Ciel groaned.

"What the bloody hell have they done now?" He mumbled to himself. After waiting for the last person to come tumbling out, Ciel finally decided to go and look for himself what the problem was. He sighed,_idiots..._

"Young Master!" Sebastian's voice for once was urgent. Before Ciel could even react, Sebastian was in front of him, arms spread wide as if creating a protective barrier. Blood dripped onto the marble floor, scattered like rose petals. Ciel stepped away and gawked at the puncture wound on his butlers chest, which was alarmingly close to his heart.

The Earl swallowed, "Sebastian..." A death scythe could kill a demon, right? When Sebastian was wounded by Grell's scythe it was just a flesh wound, (for him anyway,) this time it had actually penetrated his chest.

_Could he die from this? _Ciel thought, _Surely not, he's a demon for God's sake! _A number of thoughts tumbled through the teens head; what would happen if he _did _die? Would the contract be over or would he come back? Demons couldn't just be erased from existence, he'd just go back to Hell, right?

_"Even if I should perish in this world, I shall be waiting for you in the very depths of Hell, my Lord."_

Right... _Right._

William retracted his scythe, "Whilst I would take great pleasure in eradicating scum like you, I have a soul to collect."

Sebastian clutched at the bloody wound and smirked. He was having a _really _bad day. Grell, who was watching with a bored expression, suddenly came to a realization, "Am I still going to get my kiss?!" She asked hopefully.

"No!" Ciel growled, "You messed up!"

The reaper huffed and said somewhat to herself, "Well then, if I can't have my kiss I may as well kill the brat!" Grell, seemingly out of nowhere, pulled out her death scythe. With a manic laugh she swung at Ciel, but was gridlocked by Sebastian. "Argh! You're so persistent!" She complained, putting all of her weight onto the chainsaw, forcing Sebastian back. Ciel was really getting nervous now. Although he never let his emotions show, he still experienced things like anxiety and even fear. At this point saving Lizzy was just a niggling little thought at the back of his mind, he was actually a little worried about his butler. Sebastian looked paler, which Ciel thought wasn't even possible, but he looked ghastly. He was still bleeding rather profusely, the injury was obviously worse than the last time he was struck with a scythe. He was panting, maybe his lung was punctured? Was it even a necessity for demons to breathe? Ciel shook his head lightly, he still needed to get to Elizabeth as quickly as possible, and the reaper duo was making it extremely difficult.

"Stop, Grell!" He called, "You can still have the kiss!"

Grell stopped abruptly and pulled back with a grin on her face.

"On one condition."

Her smile faltered.

"Get William out of here!" Ciel demanded in a way that made him think that he was ordering Sebastian.

"Actually, I'm afraid that's not possi-" Will started, but failed to finish as Grell crashed down on him.

"I'm sorry, my love!" The redhead cried dramatically, as if she were playing the part of a maiden about to sickeningly betray her lover.

"Ooh!"

Everyone, including the reapers locked in battle, turned their heads in wonder. Ciel's eyes narrowed. _Lord Druitt._

"What gracefulness! You-" He pointed to Grell, "as so very beautiful as a blood-red rose, and you-" He pointed to William this time," a gaze so very cold it could pierce the stoniest of hearts!" His gaze saddened as he turned fiercely towards the still-wounded Sebastian, "And a soldier wounded on the battlefield!" He flung his arms up, "Pourquoi!?"

Whilst William and Grell decided that the mans antics weren't interesting enough to hold their attention and resumed battle, Ciel decided that he'd had enough of Druitt's God-awful acting. Striding over to Lord Druitt, teeth clenched and eyebrows furrowed, he jumped up and grabbed a handful of his sun-bleached blonde hair. Sebastian watched with an amused smirk as his master dragged a protesting Druitt out of the room and soon followed suit.

Once they were in a different room, Ciel released his grip and immediately pulled out a handgun, to which he pointed towards Lord Druitt.

"Where is she?!" Ciel was angrier than he'd ever been at that point. This vile man had taken Elizabeth and he damn-well knew it.

"I don't understand, my Lord." Druitt said cluelessly, nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders.

Ciel increased the pressure on the trigger, "Elizabeth, where is she?!" He demanded through gritted teeth.

"O-okay." He put his hands up in front of him as if in surrender, "I've already sold her off."

Ciel's eyes widened. His small frame shook with anger as he pressed the gun against Druitt's forehead. Scratch the earlier statement, _now _he was at his angriest.

"You bastard! Who to?!" The young lord was about ready to pull the trigger, he would've if the Viscount didn't hold all the information he needed to find Lizzy.

Druitt swallowed, "I can't-"

Demented laughter. The sound of metal clashing with bone. A 'thump' as the Viscount's lifeless body hit the floor. Grell flicked her chainsaw to dispose of the blood staining the blades, a devious grin on her face with his unusual shark-like teeth in plain show. Ciel was lost for words. A heavy feeling of dread and hopelessness came over him. The feeling weakened his knees and forced him to the floor, it was like a weight was chained to his every limb. Then came the fury. The recognition that he'd never be able to track down Elizabeth without the information on who she'd been handed over to. Without thinking Ciel pointed the barrel of the gun towards Grell and fired. With a incredulous squeal, Grell managed to dodge the bullet which landed in the wall, dangerously close to her head.

"You little brat! He was supposed to die in five minutes anyway!" The redhead yelled, revving her chainsaw in preparation to slice whatever got in her way.

Blinded with rage, the young Earl didn't even notice that he'd been hoisted up into Sebastian's arms and was briskly being carried away, his butler swerving to avoid the cracks. It was only then he knew what his heart was telling him to do.

"Kill them." Ciel said almost inaudibly through clenched teeth.

"What was that, my Lord?" Came the demon's teasing voice.

Ciel gripped Sebastian's jacket and glared at him, his eyes ablaze with fury.

"Kill the bastards!" He roared, his throat raw with the force.

Still not giving him a straight answer, Sebastian said, "Are you sure you are prepared to face the consequences that come with killing them, my Lord? They are still divine beings."

"Do I have to repeat my order?!" Ciel vented his frustration onto Sebastian with nowhere else for it to go.

The demon gave a sadistic chuckle and smiled icily, "No, my Lord. I shall take care of it immediately," The butler set his master down, "Please, stay here, Young Master."

Ciel replied with a distasteful look, evidently calmer than he was before. Just a stones throw away from where the duo was standing William and Grell were collecting the soul of Aleister Chambers or 'Viscount Druitt'. It was more William doing the work and Grell leaning against a wall, inspecting her nails.

"Bassy!" Grell squealed and jumped up, "You came ba-" The redhead faltered. There was a feral look in the demons eyes, the look of a predator ready for the kill. William met and held Sebastian's gaze, it was as if he was completely unfazed by the sadistic glint in Sebastian's eyes, like he'd dealt with that kind of thing before.

"What do _you _want?" He put extra emphasis on the 'you'. Sebastian didn't reply, instead he smirked hotly, not his usual amused smirk, but a vicious one. He was going to enjoy disposing of these two.

Ciel listened to the infuriated screams of the reapers and almost chuckled to himself. Then the reality of the situation hit him; if he was hurting others for the sake of his amusement, then was he no better than the people he disgusted? No, he was doing it for Elizabeth.

But they weren't at fault, a Death God must do their job, mustn't they? His conscience told him, almost mocking him in his time of weakness.

Druitt was about to give me the information! He mentally replied back.

No, he _wasn't. _His mind said teasingly. The conversation went on in his head for a good minute until it hit him like a ton of bricks. _He _was the one enjoying other's pain. _He _was the one that fought for something as ridiculous as revenge. _He _was the one at fault.

"Sebastian, stop!" He yelled, damn-well knowing that the demon would hear him.

Sebastian stopped.

He held a beaten and bloodied Grell by the hair in one hand and gripped at William's scythe with the other. Honestly, he'd been saving his 'true form' for when things got difficult or he got injured again, seeing as his previous wound had already healed, but he doubted it would happen again. He was just about ready to drop the bomb and 'transform' when his master called him. Shame. He released his grip on the reaper as Will retracted his scythe.

"It seems that your master is calling you, demon." He pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose with a repelled look.

"Indeed." The eyes that were glowing a fluorescent fuchsia returned to their normal deep red. Pushing past the reaper he gave an amused smirk, simply for the enjoyment that came with watching William's glare intensify. As a loyal dog should, Sebastian made haste to his masters beckon, arriving at his side within seconds. Ciel gave his butler a long, hard stare and made a 'tch' noise with his tongue.

"You look terrible." Ciel said in a bored tone. And indeed he did look rather terrible. The tailcoat he worked so hard to maintain in mint condition was ripped almost to shreds and caked in blood. Sebastian's blood as well as Grells, (William apparently hadn't suffered a scratch,) stained the once pristine jacket, a deep crimson. But of course, his hair had stayed perfectly intact the whole time with just a spot of red on the left of his face.

"Well, young Master," He smiled, removing his blood-stained gloves as he did so, "Killing a Grim Reaper has proven to be quite the difficult task."

Ciel rolled his eyes.

Out of nowhere, a glass-shattering shriek filled the crisp evening air, grabbing the duo's attention immediately. The scream sounded more pained than frightened. The two shot each-other knowing glances and set off towards the source of the noise. The sound of hurried footsteps and pants of breath echoed around the building until they finally came face-to-face with a relatively large oak door. Without hesitation the door was kicked open. Ciel's eyes widened in appal. There was large iron cages littering the room. They were supposedly big enough to fit a human inside with just enough room to move around and many of them were varnished with rust. Although there must have been at least fifteen of the things only one was occupied. They had found the source of the scream.

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**A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
****I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!**


	4. The Souls Secret

**A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the late update! School's taking up a lot of my time. (14 ****pieces of homework a week! D:) A lot of my updates are going to be extremely late, so please be patient /-\ And with that note, please enjoy this chapter! **

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****hapter 3: The Souls Secret****

They had found the source of the scream. Master and butler shared a look, Ciel's hard and Sebastian's interested. Ciel approached the silhouette huddled in the cage as one would approach a startled animal. Deep brown eyes, brunette hair tangled to no end and a look on her face like a deer in headlights. She must have been no older than fifteen. She shuffled back, one arm wrapped protectively around herself whilst the other was chained to the cage, "W-who are you?" She whispered, her voice shaking from the cold.

Sebastian, the oh-so-amazing butler that he was, stepped forward to introduce his master, "This is Lord Ciel Phantomhive, Earl of Phantomhive and service to the Queen."

The nameless-girls eyes widened. She pulled herself forward, wrapping her slender fingers around the bars of the cage, "S-so you're not going t-to take me away?"

Sebastian and Ciel shared another glance before the butler nodded and smirked. With absolute ease the demon pried the metal bars open, snapped the handcuffs and lifted the frail frame of the girl out of the cage. Before she could scream from the shock of seeing Sebastian's inhuman strength, said demon but a single gloved finger to her forehead. There was a sharp inhale and a small flail of limbs before her eyes fluttered shut.

"She will have no memory of what happened when she wakes up." Sebastian flashed a closed-eye smile.

"That wasn't necessary, you know. You could have just broken the lock." Ciel returned Sebastian's grin with a disapproving look.

"My apologies, Sir."

Ciel's hard blue eyes scanned the room at leisure -almost like a cats- and with no more signs of danger presenting itself, started to lead out of the room leaving the stench of fear behind him.

* * *

"There are no records of who Lady Elizabeth could have been 'sold' to, my Lord." Sebastian declared, flicking through several papers he had obtained from Lord Druitt's mansion, "There's nothing but orders for Chloroform and several cages..." He trailed off.

Ciel settled on his king-sized bed, the covers silky and soft beneath him and groaned quietly in acknowledgement. He'd exhausted all his anger along with his energy throughout the day and honestly couldn't care less at that moment. He'd just have to pick it up in the morning. With that thought Ciel slipped under the covers. The cotton nightgown as well as the plush duvet would do for protecting him against the chill air of the night, additionally acting as a form of comfort.

"Good night, Young Master." Sebastian simpered as he blew out the only source of light in the royal blue bedroom. Soon after silently exiting and softly shutting the door, Sebastian decided to check on their 'guest'. He faintly rapped on the door that would reveal one of many guest bedrooms. There was a quiet rustling sound before the door was opened. The young girl, who had revealed herself as "C-Cassandra. Cassandra Pierce..." Minutes after she'd been explained to where she was, lay dormant. An icy draft blew in through the window, which had been hastily swung open. Sebastian raised an eyebrow as he swiftly shut the window, the curtains swirling around him as he did so. Cassandra attempted to keep her breathing steady, but Sebastian being the demon that he was, picked up on it easily.

"My Lady, are you not cold?" He asked, studying the shivering form. In response the girl pulled the sheets up to her chin. The butler shook his head and strolled over to the fireplace adorning the room. With a clean flick of his wrist, for he knew Cassandra wasn't watching, the fire flared giving the room a soft orange glow.

That was two weeks ago. Cassandra, once she'd regained her self-control, had called for someone to pick her up. That was two days after prying her from the Viscount of Druitt's grasp. Today a letter came addressed to Lord Phantomhive. Ciel ripped open the envelope with a specially designed knife and carefully removed the letter. His sapphire eyes rolled over the words slowly at first. His grip tightened almost tearing the delicate paper.

__To my dear boy,__

__I believe that not long ago you made acquaintance with Lady Cassandra Pierce. I know this is sudden, but it turns out that she happens to be a distant cousin of yours. She is a noble and in line to be the next marchioness of the household, no less! I deem her the perfect person to fill in for Lady Elizabeth as your new fiancée. After all, every Earl must have his mistress.  
Please consider this offer, dear boy, as Lady Cassandra has agreed to marry you, her father had also given you consent. There's no letting a lady down, now is there?__

__Warm regards,  
Queen Victoria.__

The frame of the boy-earl froze in place as the Queen's words processed in his mind. New fiancée? How could Her Majesty give up so easily? Surely she couldn't believe that Elizabeth was gone for good? Ciel stared at the letter in slight horror, almost as if he was expecting the letters to re-form themselves into a solution. He couldn't decline a request from the Queen, but he couldn't just take on a new fiancée like that. It just wasn't negotiable, he would have to marry Cassandra. A girl he had met only two weeks ago. Sebastian's voice snatched his master from his thoughts, "Might I ask what you are getting so worked up about, my Lord?"

Worked up? Sebastian was right, Ciel'd been subconsciously grinding his teeth. It had become somewhat of a habit since Lizzy had been gone, "Her Majesty has requested that I take on a new fiancée." He tried to keep his voice as level as possible.

"And who might your new fiancée be, Young Master?"

Ciel didn't need to look at his butlers face, he could hear the smirk in his voice, "Cassandra Pierce."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, "The mistress at Viscount Druitt's manor?"

"It appears so." Ciel grumbled.

"Are you going to obey the Queen's orders like a good guard dog? Or are you going to stray away for the sake of Lady Elizabeth, my Lord?" The demon taunted, the smirk returning once again.

"Of course I'm going to follow her bloody orders! There's no other choice!" Ciel snapped.

"And what if Lady Elizabeth should return?" Another provoking question.

"Then I'll just have to break off the engagement with Cassandra."

"And return to Lady Elizabeth right after? Wouldn't that cause quite a bit of trouble?"

The Earl didn't have a response, never mind a smart comeback, so he said what he usually replied with when he was lost for words; "Shut up," He growled, "bastard..."

Soon after that ordeal Ciel agreed with the Queen via letter and arranged for a meet up with Cassandra. He was going to have to propose to her. The legal age for a gentleman to get married was fourteen, so why not get it over with quickly? However, Ciel wasn't one to get down on one knee. Proposing by letter would be the best course of action, and thus he began writing...

The letter that held the words he had spent almost an hour perfecting, (he may not have loved her, but he was still a nobleman,) lay on the desk in front of him, almost mocking him with it's stillness. After a few minutes of deciding whether it was the right decision or not, he had the letter sent off. And waited.  
Ciel may not have noticed it himself, but everyone else in the household had. Between the time that the letter had been posted and the time he received one back, (which was three days to be exact,) he had become extremely restless and quick to anger. It was very unlike him and it only continued to get worse when he received the response to his proposal.

Yes, she will marry him.

Plus, she'll be moving in.

Tomorrow.

Ciel leaned his head against his hand eyeing the letter as if it had offended his ancestors. How was he going to deal with living with another person that wasn't his servant? He didn't even know what he was letting himself in for. Cassandra could be a psychopathic killer for all he knew, though he doubted it. He just hoped that she wasn't cute-crazy like Elizabeth.

The Earl stood at the front entrance of the manor, the trio (plus Tanaka and Sebastian,) standing either side of him. Every one of them had smiles on their lips, Ciel's convincingly real. The door to a luxurious looking carriage revealed a very noble-looking girl. And she was indeed beautiful. For a fifteen year old she seemed extremely matured, it was mostly the fact that she was a few inches taller than the Earl. Chestnut coloured locks fell down her back in ringed curls, glimmering in the early morning sunlight. Her eyes, that at that moment were taking in her new surroundings, burned a brown so dark and intense they almost looked red. Fine jewellery, rubies to match her dress, adorned the creamy tanned skin of her neck and wrists. Her skin was of a darker shade than usually seen in Britain at that time, so Ciel couldn't help but wonder if she was an immigrant. It was soon cleared up that she wasn't when her voice rang out in a perfect British accent.

"I say, what a gorgeous manor." Cassandra smiled coldly when she met and held Ciel's gaze. She took petite, lady-like steps up to the doors to meet the six waiting to greet her. She held out a gloved hand which Ciel took and planted a light kiss on, much to his dismay.

"Welcome to the Phantomhive manor, my Lady." The Earl, trying his hardest not to scowl, said as Cassy linked her arm through his.

"Welcome!" The trio cheered, their grins widening.

"Ho, ho, ho."

The mistress allowed a warm smile onto her face. Looking at the beaming faces of the servants almost warmed her heart. Almost. Cassandra was lead to her bedroom by the boy-earl whilst the servants carried her bags in behind them. When everything was settled and all luggage had been safely deposited in her new room, Cassandra and Ciel were left alone. The brunette smiled slyly and cocked a finger, "Come."

Ciel raised an eyebrow, but did as she said. He had a feeling that the way she behaved at Lord Druitt's mansion was all an act, but an Earl must keep his fiancée happy at all times. The two were standing awfully close together. Before Ciel could take a step back, Cassy had placed a full-on kiss upon his lips. He jumped back, blushing furiously, "W-what on earth are you doing?!"

Cassandra giggled and came closer to him, placing a hand on his chest, "We are to be married, are we not?"

"Y-yes." Ciel froze and swallowed. He had no experience what-so-ever in this kind of thing.

"Then is it so wrong that I may commit such acts on my future husband?" She bit on her lip.

"My Lord," Sebastian, to Ciel's relief, intervened, "lunch shall be ready-" The demon stopped, taking in the scene before him. His trademark smirk appeared on his lips, "Ah, please do forgive me for interrupting."

Ciel blanched, "N-no! You're not interrupting anything!" He moved back for the second time.

Sebastian concealed a chuckle. A blushing Young Master and a lady in the room? Who could have thought they'd 'settle in' so quickly? "Lunch shall be ready in half an hour." He stated with a bow.

"I look forward to seeing you at lunch, my Lady." Ciel spun on his heel to leave.

"Could you stop being so formal? We are engaged, you know."

He didn't need to be reminded, "Of course," He looked over his shoulder, his frown returning, "Cassandra."

Lunch that day consisted of Cassandra flirting with practically every man that came her way, (which meant that Sebastian, Bard, Finny and Ciel himself were the victims,) and the Earl contemplating on whether the dinner fork he was holding could be enough to kill her, or himself, or anyone really.

The years Ciel had to spend with Cassandra were driving him insane. He was thinking about breaking off the engagement already. If he didn't get rid of her soon, his mental health would be at stake. He thought all of this with his head in his hands, sitting at his study desk. Ciel was ripped from his dreamland when a light knock that could only be identified as his butlers broke the silence of the room.

"Young Master," He said entering the study, "I believe there is someone here to see you."

Ciel was about to scold Sebastian for entering without his consent until he saw the pitiful figure of his visitor. He shot up in his seat.

"I thought I'd never see you again..."

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**A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
**********I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!********


	5. Years and Years

****Chapter 4: Years and Years****

"I thought I'd never see you again..."

The shadow of a girl came into plain view. This girl looked nothing like the hyper, cute-crazy girl he remembered, though he still instantly recognized her. Elizabeth. Ciel took in the sight of her, concern evident in his eyes. He couldn't put it any simpler, she looked terrible. Her golden pigtails were no longer held up, but strewn down her back and chest. It was tangled to the point where there was no saving it, a few inches would have to be sheared off at least. Dark purple rings presented themselves under her emerald orbs. Her clothes were torn, her feet bare. She essentially looked like a drowned cat. Ciel took the the girl by her shoulders, but she just stared with unseeing eyes.

"Elizabeth." When she didn't respond Ciel shook her, clearly aggravated by her silence, "Elizabeth!" The same crushing silence remained. Out of nowhere a pair of gloved hands tore him away from her, "Get off of me!" He screamed with indignation. He continued to struggle until cold-ice blue eyes met his as he was finally released.

"I would appreciate it if you were to relinquish your grip on my Mistress, my Lord."

Ciel's heart sank. Mistress? Then this man was Elizabeth's butler, which meant that she must have formed a contract with him in order to escape. The Earl recomposed himself and turned to fully face the man. He had soft, innocent features that seemed to contradict his demeanour completely. Navy-blue hair so dark it looked black fell in glossy locks down to just above his shoulders. Pale blue eyes stood out against his ghostly pale skin. This man oddly reminded Ciel of someone, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Ciel had all the right to tell the bastard that Lizzy was his responsibility and that he was in no place to tell him what to do! He was the Earl of this place, for God's sake! But he held his tongue.

"Excuse me." The navy-haired man hoisted an entirely unresponsive Lizzy, who hadn't even flinched throughout the whole ordeal, into his arms and held her bridal style. Before the Earl could protest she had been whisked away, out of his field of vision.

Sebastian, who had been silently observing- his trademark smirk occupying his lips the whole time -quietly bowed and left, knowing exactly what his Master wanted done. It didn't take long for the demon to track down the mysterious impostor and caught him just as he was exiting a guest bedroom, professedly where he had left Elizabeth to rest. The two males' eyes met with an instinctive hate.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He asked innocently, his voice like velvet.

"Excuse me, but you had no right to touch my Young Master." Sebastian said coolly.

A smile just teetering on the edge of a smirk spread across the mans face, "How unruly of me. I am Zavier Deverell, the new butler of the Midford household."

"Sebastian Michaelis, current butler of the Phantomhive household." A glare filled with the same instinctive hate fixated itself on Zavier.

Zavier gave a short, cold laugh, "You seem rather protective over your prey, Michaelis."

"Yes, well the last time I had to deal with someone like you, my 'prey' fell into the wrong hands."

The aqua-eyed man flashed a lopsided grin. He was about to walk past Sebastian, but stopped just by his side, refusing to make eye contact, "I assure you, I am not here for your Master."

Sebastian's glare only intensified as he listened to the footsteps of the other butler making his way down the hall.

* * *

Lizzy shot up in bed. The remnants of another gruelling nightmare clouded her vision as she rubbed her eyes. She lazily looked around the finely decorated bedroom and froze in place. She had no idea where she was, but wouldn't let panic overtake her thoughts. She jumped out of the king-sized bed, sensing danger. A loud 'crash sounded through the room as a glass of water hit the floor. She swallowed and prayed that no-one had heard. Small, bare feet pattered against the floor, carefully avoiding the shattered glass, as she headed towards the door. Just a few steps from her desired destination she paused, hearing footsteps from the other side. All the muscles in her body stiffened as she waited for whoever was about to come through the door.

"Lady Elizabeth? Are you quite alright in there?" Alas, nobody entered the room, but a deep, strangely familiar voice sounded instead. Still completely unaware of who was waiting outside her room, Lizzy realized that she was, in fact, still in her nightgown and so decided to stall the visitor.

"Y-yes," She said in an uncertain voice, "I'll be out in a minute?"

"Very well, my Lady." Came the voice, the clicking of shoes following suit. Elizabeth sighed in relief. She noticed a pile of fresh clothes and a lovely wine-red dress hung up on the door of the wardrobe. Without a maid to help her, putting on a corset would be difficult, (especially considering the fact that she hadn't worn one in nearly three years,) but she managed to dress herself in under ten minutes.  
Swallowing down the fear of seeing her new self, Elizabeth stepped in front of a tall mirror and took in her appearance. The dress, oddly enough, fitted perfectly and felt considerably pleasant against her skin. It was nice to wear something other than tattered rags. Her hair had lost it's curls and hung loosely down her back. Overall she looked a lot better than she did. She had been bathed, (she paid no heed to who had bathed her,) and the tangles had been cut out of her hair. The teen stared at the foreign reflection looking back at her for a little longer before a knock echoed in the silent room.

"My Lady, are you ready?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath to summon some courage and swung open the door. She had to stifle a gasp, "Sebastian?" Her eyes widened as she stared at the smiling figure before her.

"Ah, so you do remember, my Lady."

"Yes..." She let her thoughts process before a sudden realization hit her like a ton of bricks. If Sebastian was there, then so was- Without hesitation she began sprinting, the whole time a single word pounding in her head synced with the thumping of her heart. Ciel, Ciel, Ciel! She kept running, towards where exactly, she didn't know. She kept going until she came face to face with what felt like the right room. Tightening her hands into fists, Elizabeth cautiously rapped on the door before her and anxiously waited for a response. The voice that called back was alien to her ears. It was far too deep of a voice to be his. Suddenly convinced that her instincts had lead her to the wrong room, she stumbled over her next action. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to run, but she forced herself through the door.  
Blue clashed with green as their eyes met. The young Earl's expression dripped with annoyance at the unexpected visitor, until he saw who said visitor was. The annoyance quickly switched to neutral. It was like he had turned off his emotions completely. Elizabeth recalled the way she used to squeal at her former fiancé and cringed. Unsure of how to greet him and to make up for the way she used to at as a child, she followed Ciel and remained expressionless.

"Ciel." She said blankly, as if she was greeting a fellow colleague. All the effort and strain of her heart was almost for nothing. She wasn't actually expecting him to react this way. She thought it would be a huge reunion and he would actually __try __to look happy, if not for his sake for hers.  
A slight flicker of confusion showed in Ciel's azure eyes. His frame visibly relaxed. The way he had tensed up told Elizabeth that he was almost prepared to deal with her usual antics. And although Elizabeth remained calm, her demeanour deceived her feelings. Her heart was on fire and beating fast. Her stomach was performing somersaults and her chest felt tight to the point where she could hardly breath. The young Mistress hadn't seen her ex-fiancé for years and honestly wanted to break down in tears at his feet. The action that Ciel took next surprised Elizabeth. Staying completely silent, Ciel shook his head lightly and pulled her into an embrace. Unlike the way she would have reacted if Ciel had willingly hugged her in the past, her body stiffened and refused to let her move. An overwhelming urge to push him away flooded her body.

"Ciel, what are you doing?" The sickly-sweet voice caused the two to jump and separate.

"Cassandra-"

"Who is this?" Her voice was calm enough, but it had a lining of malice. The very little emotion that had just started to surface suddenly drained out of Ciel's body.

"This is Elizabeth Midford, my former fiancée." He spoke slowly and watched his wording. To him talking to Cassy was like walking on a mine field.

"Ah, yes. I've heard quite a bit about you," A sly smile twisted Cassandra's lips, "Cassandra Pierce." Instant dislike of the girl concealed all the other emotions rushing around in Elizabeth's head and spread to her expression.

"Elated," Completely forgetting the correct mannerisms of a lady, Elizabeth continued; "I think I should like to leave now." and hurried out of the room. Ciel sighed and leaned against his desk.

"Well, that was rude," Cassy placed her hands on her hips, "no 'nice to meet you,' or anything." Attempting to stay calm, (just hearing her voice could annoy Ciel at this point,) Ciel frowned and turned to face her.

"You do realize what she's been through? She's still recovering." Ciel suddenly felt the need to defend Elizabeth as memories of his kidnapping flashed behind his eyes.

Cassandra 'humph'ed and folded her arms in a dramatic manner, "Don't get so protective. She's fine now, isn't she?" Seemingly out of nowhere her mood changed in a blink of an eye. She slinked her arms around Ciel's neck with hooded eyes and a cat-like smirk, "Never mind. She'll just have to find herself a new man, now won't she?" She purred, "Because you're __mine __now."

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**A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
**********I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!********


	6. Remember When?

**A/N: Oh my gosh, guys. I ACTUALLY UPDATED ON TIME :D *throws confetti* Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALOIS (November 5th) :D *THROWS MORE CONFETTI*  
You guys have been giving me so much overwhelming support and I'm extremely grateful :') I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it! **

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****Chapter 5: Remember when...?****

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" Edward, Elizabeth's brother, steamed. He tended to get rather over-protective over Lizzy and the fact that her family hadn't been notified straight away made him dislike Ciel even more. He'd never really liked Ciel, especially because he was going to be the one to marry Edward's little sister. As her older brother he felt that he must protect her at all times, no matter what.  
The Midford family, (that included Elizabeth's Mother, Father and Brother, as well as the household maid Paula,) had arrived to ponder and pester over Lizzy's reappearance.

"I doubt she would have wanted to see her family in the state she was in..." Ciel trailed off. Francis, Elizabeth's Mother and Marchioness of the household, was staring the Earl down with a viscous glare, "I apologize for not calling you sooner." He rephrased.  
In the midst of an embrace from her ever-loving Father, Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder what had changed at home. She almost didn't want to leave the Phantomhive manor. There was some strange desire to stay with Ciel tugging at her thoughts.  
Whilst Edward was yelling at Ciel, Paula was trying to calm him down and Lizzy's parents worried over her, checking her over for any injuries and repeatedly smothering her, Zavier and Sebastian stood out of harms way, silently observing. Sebastian sighed at the scene before him.

"Is there something the matter, Sebastian?" Zavier asked, feigning concern.

"Oh, nothing. Just that dealing with humans has never been my strong suit."

Zavier smirked, "You poor soul," He cooed, his voice oozing with sarcasm, "Although," He turned his head to face Sebastian, "you should really feel sorry for me."

"Oh? And why is that?" Sebastian's trademark smirk accompanied by a slightly teasing glare occupied his features.

"I have the liberty of dealing with __these __humans in particular."

Sebastian chuckled lightly, "I may have misjudged you, Zavier."

The two continued their conversation, occasionally complaining about the times they'd had to deal with 'petty' humans, but it was short lived. Genuinely startling both butlers who had slowly lost awareness of their surroundings as their conversing went on, Francis' voice cut through the silence. The only other thing creating any sort of noise was the grandfather clock ticking away in the corner of the room.

"Hello, Sebastian. You're looking as unsightly as ever." Francis stated, obviously not caring for any type of response. Sebastian blanched and smiled guiltily. The Marchioness gave Zavier a long, hard stare. With a careless flick of her hand she made a noise that was almost like a sound of approval, "I suppose you'll do." Before Zavier could give his thanks Francis was already pointing out his flaws, "But, your hair is too long and it's so out of order. Don't look so cynical all the time! Stand straighter!"  
Zavier gave what seemed to be becoming his trademark lopsided smile, "I apologize, Mistress. I shall try my best to become satisfactory."  
Francis gave a curt nod, signalling that the conversation was over and returned to Elizabeth, "I suppose we should return home now," She suggested, "We have much to catch up on." She looked to Lizzy with a soft, caring familiarity.

"You had better take care of my little sister!" Edward glared at the butler before following the rest out of the manor.  
Zavier gave one last glance to Sebastian, who smirked back with a nod of 'Good luck', and proceeded to follow out.

"Don't worry," Paula sang, "You'll get used to them in no time at all!"  
With a smile and a slight sigh Zavier as well as Paula disappeared from view.

*2 Weeks Later*

"Young Master, Lady Elizabeth is on the phone. Do you wish to speak with her?" Sebastian asked, his hand over the speaking end of the phone.

Ciel looked up from his paperwork, "Yes, bring it here."  
The butler did as told and handed the phone over.

"Hello?"

"Ciel, is it alright that I should come over? There's something I need to talk to you about."

Ciel raised an eyebrow in question. Elizabeth had never called him to arrange a visit before, "I should think so, but why can't you talk to me over the phone?"

"I-I can't. I'll see you later then."

"Elizabeth-" The Earl attempted to question her further, but she had already hung up the phone.

"Who was that, darling?"

__Here we go again...__

"Nobody. It isn't important anyway." Ciel nodded to Sebastian, who swiftly vanished from the room with an amused smile.

Cassandra slammed her hands down on the desk her fiancé was sitting at. She forced her expression from agitated to a look of sickly innocence, "I just want to know who it was you were talking to." She simpered.

"It was a business call-"

"You're lying." Cassy's voice raised slightly and took on a lining of malice.

"Why would I lie? It was a call about Funtom, nothing more."

"It was Elizabeth, wasn't it?"

"Why do you care about her so much?! You're the one I'm engaged to, not her!" Ciel snapped, jumping up from his place at the desk.  
Tears that Ciel fully knew were fake rolled down Cassy's cheeks.

"Cassandra-"

"You like her better than me, don't you?!"

Ciel stayed silent, the urge to punch something slowly welling up inside him. If he said no she would just accuse him of lying again. If he said yes all Hell would break loose. Cassandra let out a short, frustrated shriek at his suffocating silence and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. For a split second Ciel pictured Lizzy running out of the same door on the day she was kidnapped. The boy-Earl put a hand to his forehead and slumped back down into his chair. Women were certainly difficult to please, especially women of high class. The only thing he could do now was let Cassandra 'cry' it out and wait for Elizabeth to arrive.

* * *

"So, what is it you wish to discuss?" Ciel asked simply. The two were seated across from each other in the manors drawing room. Luckily, the argument Ciel had had with Cassandra would prevent her from clinging to him every given moment, and so Ciel and Elizabeth were alone, for now, (minus Sebastian standing at the back of the room.) Lizzy stumbled over her words. She had been preparing herself to talk to him for a while. It should have been so easy, but now that she was actually face-to-face with those cold, piercing indigo eyes it was far more difficult than she had anticipated.

"I'm not quite sure how to tell you..." She sighed crossly.

Sebastian, sensing exactly what Lizzy wanted to say, bowed down to whisper something to Ciel.

"Is that so? Very well then, Sebastian." Ciel tapped his fingers against the fabric of the chair in a slight fit of boredom.

"U-Um, might I ask what it is you are doing?" Elizabeth clenched her fists in her lap as Sebastian strolled towards her, a sly smirk on his lips.

The demons eyes began to burn fuchsia, "Don't be afraid, my Lady. If this were to harm you in any way, I'm sure my Master would not allow it."

Elizabeth swallowed, "Sebastian? You're a-?" Her next words failed to leave her lips as a single finger was placed to her forehead. Without warning Elizabeth's head snapped back as thousands of images crowded her mind. They were memories, but they weren't hers. They were Sebastian's memories of Ciel. She wondered why Sebastian was showing her this, but not for very long. Her mind was pummelled with memory after memory. So many things were shown to her; Madame Red's death, Sebastian endlessly rescuing Ciel from envious business owners, another contracted duo that died at the hands of Ciel and Sebastian, __her own funeral. __One thing, a single second of footage, stood out the most though. The moment Ciel called Sebastian's new name and formed a contract. A sudden pang of guilt and sympathy caused Elizabeth's heart to contract. This tiny, frail child forced to make home in a cage shared with several other kids, creating a sacred bond with a demon. Selling his soul for revenge.  
Elizabeth knew that Ciel had disappeared for a few weeks, but she had no idea what conditions he had been kept in or the way he was treated. Stabs of guilt tore her attention away from the images. She had been trying so hard to get Ciel to smile. She had heard him repeat several times that he was unable to smile or feel true happiness ever again, but she still persisted. How annoying, no, __enraging __must she had been? Lizzy realized now the reason behind it, for she too was no longer able to smile joyfully as she once had.  
Searing pain suddenly forced her back to reality. Her skin was burning, her mouth dry and her head felt about ready to explode. Her throat was raw and tears were stinging at her eyes. She could hear herself screaming, but it was as if she was listening from a distance. After a few seconds her eyes cracked open and Ciel and Sebastian came into blurred view. The duo were acting as if what had just happened was completely normal, and maybe it was to them. Although, the Earl was showing minute signs of distress, essentially as if he wanted to run to Elizabeth to comfort her.

"I apologize, my Lady. I'm afraid what you just experienced was the only means I could use to show you." Sebastian bowed in apology.

Elizabeth was stunned to silence. She could see these memories as if they were her own, and she wasn't sure if she was going to become accustomed to it or not. All the information she had just been given was going to take a while to process. She managed a weak nod in acceptance.

"Well," Ciel undid his eyepatch and pulled it away to reveal his contracted eye, "Now you know my darkest secrets." The, (what Elizabeth thought was very beautiful,) pentagram branded permanently onto Ciel's eye glowed, illuminating it's mismatched twin.

"So, you knew?" Elizabeth managed shakily, "You knew what I wanted to tell you and- and you reveal this to me?"

"Yes, Elizabeth. Sebastian and I were fully aware from the start that you currently have a Faustian contract with Zavier." Ciel stood from his place in the chair opposite Lizzy, "Come, Sebastian. I have paperwork that demands to be completed by tomorrow."

"Very good, Sir." Sebastian followed without question.

Elizabeth tensed up as Ciel paused at her side. Sebastian carried out of the room, waiting just outside. Very gently, Ciel leaned down to bring his mouth to her ear.

"I didn't have the chance to tell you before, but I'm glad to have you back."

The Mistress' breath hitched in her throat. Why could a sentence that simple coming from him cause her heart to flutter? She was left blushing furiously, unable to move as Ciel exited the room, shutting the door behind him. After a little while Lizzy let out a long sigh that released all the built up tension. She felt bad for keeping her secret from Ciel, seeing as he'd just shared his deepest, darkest secrets with her, but she couldn't help but feel relieved.  
__Thank God, they haven't figured it out...__

* * *

Cassandra was discontent with herself. Frustrated that Ciel was trying to avoid her and frustrated that Elizabeth was most definitely to be the cause of their break-up. To clear her head she deduced that a stroll through the markets was the best course of action. As a lady was never allowed out of the house alone, Mey-Rin was by her side. She would sometimes make small-talk and Cassy would politely respond, but for the most part they walked in silence.

"Oh!," Mey-Rin suddenly perked up, "I think this dress would look lovely on you, yes I do!" She grinned and rushed off to examine said dress. Cassandra paid no mind to the maid's antics and proceeded to explore some of the other items the shops and stalls had to offer.

"Excuse me, Miss." A small, nervous voice called from behind her.

Cassy spun round to see who had addressed her, an automatic glare forming, "Yes?"

A little girl, no older than nine stood there, shivering from the cold evening air. She shrank back, intimidated by Cassandra's cold stare, "Would y-you like to buy a flower?" She swallowed, "They're only a penny each."

Cassandra's glare melted away to a look of- sympathy? Familiarity? She exhaled slowly and reached for her money bag. Extraordinarily, a soft smile graced her face as she watched the child's eyes light up.

"Here," She handed a shilling to the girl, closing her tiny fingers around it.

"B-But, Miss, they're only a penny-"

"I know," Cassy inhaled and looked away from the girls surprised features, "Buy yourself some vitals, a coat too."

The child, still perplexed by the Mistress' generosity, handed her a violet flower. Thinking the whole situation resolved, Cassy turned away, but failed to get any further than a step. The girl was hugging her. With an iron grip, no less. The teen's eyes widened as memories rushed back to her. The only person who would ever hug her like that was Kylie. She remembered that Kylie was around the young girls age when she died from illness. She had always been extremely weak and frail. After Cassandra lost her younger sister, she was never really the same again. She missed her. She missed her so much.  
Once the girl had released her grip, Cassandra looked to her, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Thank you so much, Miss!" She beamed, "God bless your soul!" The girl gave one last thank you before running off to spend her earnings.

"Miss Cassandra?" Mey-Rin's voice pulled Cassy from her daze, "Ah, there you are, my Lady!" The maid suddenly noted her solemn expression, "Are you quite alright?"

"Yes," She clenched her fists, her fingernails cutting into her palm to stop any tears from falling, "Yes. Let's go and look at that dress, shall we?"

* * *

**A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
**********I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!********


	7. Killer

**A/N: Whoop whoop! I'm on a roll with the updating! :D Again, thank you for the support, it's you guys that really inspire me to keep writing and for that I'm extremely grateful :,) Massive shout out to Shieru-Riji who has been giving me so much encouragement and continues to brighten my day with her reviews! Check her out, I've read a couple of her stories and she's written some good stuff :D And with that, please enjoy this chapter ^^**

* * *

****Chapter 6: Killer****

__Two girls of nobility sat, huddled up against each other in a filthy cage that obviously wasn't meant to hold one person, never mind two. They had been in that same cage together, occasionally let out to be washed down with a bucket of cold water or to relieve themselves, for a few months now. Over that time they had bonded quite a bit and knew a lot about each other. At first, the brunette had been unresponsive to the blonde's attempts to brighten the gloomy atmosphere, but after a bit of coaxing she had given in and decided that she may as well be friends with the blonde, she wouldn't stop bugging her otherwise.  
One of the girls, with blonde hair that fell in tangled ringlets, let out a small sob. She clung to the brunette girl besides her.__

__"Shh," She hugged her back, "It'll be okay, we'll get out of here in no time, just you wait."__

__"I-Its not entirely that," She sniffled, rubbing uselessly at her eyes.__

__"Then, what is it?" The brunette said softly, offering her voice as a form of comfort.__

__"I miss him..." The blonde continued to cry harder, each sob causing her tiny frame to shake, "I miss Ciel."__

__The brunette seemed surprised for a short moment, "Ciel Phantomhive? Is he your fiancé?"__

__"Y-yes. How did you know?"__

__"Um, he's often the topic of conversation with his toy company growing so rapidly." She thought up on the spot. She couldn't tell her the real reason she knew who he was and now that she knew that her plan would directly hurt the girl she had become so close to she almost didn't want to go through with it. But, she now knew the reason she had been told to allow herself to be kidnapped by Druitt.__

__"Oh..." The blonde smiled gingerly through her tears, "I remember how adorable his toys are. I remember how adorable he is. I always used to decorate his manor with the cutest things..." She continued to ramble on about her times with Ciel. It seemed to be helping her calm down and was certainly lifting her spirits, so the brunette allowed her to carry on reminiscing whilst her mind wandered off for a few minutes.__

SLAM!

__The door flew open to reveal a burly-looking man with a cigar hanging from his mouth which was twisted into a wry smile. The air in the room suddenly felt heavy and suffocating like there wasn't enough oxygen for each person. The man took his time surveying the cages. It was like he was picking out a toy to take home with him. The blonde's heart skipped a beat as the mans cold eyes stopped on her.__

__"You." He said with a snob-like tone to his voice. The blonde looked around the room with panicked eyes. All the other girls were giving her looks of horror and sympathy, some even started crying. She looked to the girl next to her.__

__"I'm sorry..." She whispered almost inaudibly. The blonde had no idea what she was apologizing for, so she assumed it was the kind of 'sorry' you say to someone when a family member or a friend dies. The cage door was undone and she was yanked out by her arm, the grip much tighter than she had expected it to be.__

__"No! No, wait!" She struggled against the man, but her efforts were all in vain. She wasn't getting away, "Cassy, no! Cassandra, help me, please!" She screamed as loud as her voice would let her, hot tears pouring down her face. Cassandra turned her head away, unable to look at the petrified expression on Elizabeth's face.__

__"I'm sorry..."__

* * *

It had been five months since Elizabeth had made her reappearance. Ciel and herself had been spending an awful lot of time together. For the first few weeks Elizabeth visited the manor, but with Cassandra being as jealous as she was it didn't last long. To resolve this problem the two started meeting outside of the manor or Ciel would go over to visit Elizabeth. He didn't particularly enjoy the latter.  
The Earl found himself becoming extremely fond of Elizabeth, perhaps even starting to trust her and it was no different for Lizzy. She too had felt the need to be with him wrenching at her thoughts, pulling her concentration away from whatever she was currently doing. Ciel didn't want to admit it, but he was falling for Lizzy. He actually returned her hugs instead of tolerating them and found himself feeling- happier when he was around her. It wasn't right. It disgusted him that Elizabeth had to lose her childish features and behaviour for him to even endure her. Not only that, but it scared him slightly. He honestly didn't think he was capable of loving anymore, and God knows what would happen if Cassy found out.  
Many times Ciel had found himself drawn to the other, as had Elizabeth. It had happened on many occasions, but they had always managed to control their actions, except for on this particular day...

"Ciel," Elizabeth brought the teacup from her lips, "may I ask you a question?"

"Hmm?" Ciel arched an eyebrow, "I suppose so."

"When we were children, did you hate me? The way I acted was so child-like and I- I really wouldn't blame you if you had..." She dropped her eyes and internally cursed herself for asking anything of the sort, but it was torturing her not knowing.  
The Earl looked a little startled for a moment. He attempted to regain his posture as he thought over his answer. Ciel stood up from his place and held out a hand for Elizabeth to take.

"Come, let me show you something."

She took his hand and allowed him to lead her with some hesitation. Was he avoiding the question? She was suddenly anxious that she'd angered him in some way or something of the sort.

"Here," He kept a firm grip on Elizabeth's hand as they stopped on the edge of a hill. "I was planning to show you later, but I reckon now is a good time as ever. Look, do you remember this?"

Elizabeth stared at the white patches on the grass in front of them. She couldn't decipher what exactly they were supposed to be, then it hit her.

"The white stag..." She breathed, "I remember thinking that if you saw it that it would bring you happiness." Elizabeth's lips were teetering on the edge of a smile as she thought about the joy they had shared that day. They were standing the same way they had been on that day as well. Hand in hand, overlooking the white stag that promised eternal happiness. The corners of Ciel's mouth tilted up slightly, but soon reverted back to his solemn expression. He turned to face Elizabeth, taking both of her hands in his.

"I didn't hate you, Elizabeth. I could never hate you-" He inhaled sharply, "I just keep you at a distance, because whenever I get even __slightly__ close to somebody they die right before my eyes," He sighed and recomposed himself, "You're the only family I have left, I don't want to lose you too..." Ciel stared determinedly into Lizzy's eyes, making sure she knew that he meant it.

"Ciel..." Elizabeth felt her cheeks heat up against her will. She would never have guessed Ciel could say something like that so openly.

As if there was a pull, a force out of their control, they were drawn to each other. As she lifted her head to meet his lips, their breaths mingling, lips brushing, Lizzy felt him abruptly physically tense and he jolted back. Elizabeth opened her emerald eyes, startled and hurt.

"No, no, this isn't right," Ciel spoke with ragged breath, "I'm engaged to Cassandra, not you."

Elizabeth's stomach clenched. Although she knew it was the truth, those words still hurt. It was like thousands of tiny knives being shoved through her heart with the message 'You'll never be together,' engraved on the hilts. Heat flushed through the girl out of embarrassment- and rage.

"I should think that you would like to return home?" Ciel inquired, breaking the soul-crushing silence that lingered between them.

"Yes..." Lizzy feigned annoyance, "Oh, goodness. I have seemed to of forgotten something back at your manor."

"My manor? You haven't visited in months." A sceptical look.

"The last time I visited," She added quickly, "I keep forgetting to tell you." Elizabeth faked embarrassment, (which wasn't that difficult given the situation,) praying that it was enough to get past the Earl. The real reason she needed to go back to the manor was to see Cassandra. She had to settle the bad blood between them, after all, she couldn't keep running from her forever. Elizabeth had decided to brave it and attempt to reason with her, not that she thought it would work too well.  
The boy-Earl nodded once and lead the way to the carriage. He had just as bad a feeling as Elizabeth about this.

* * *

"Oh, Ciel, you're back! Do you-" Cassandra and Elizabeth's eyes met with matching glares, "Elizabeth, what a surprise." She smiled cruelly, "What brings you here?"

"She forgot-" Ciel started.

"Actually, that's not the reason I'm here," Elizabeth flashed an apologetic glance to Ciel, "I need to talk to you, Cassandra."

The Earl's eyes widened, "I'm not leaving you alone with her." He whisper-yelled.

Ignoring his comment, Lizzy walked past Cassandra, ready to lead the way, "Well?" She looked back at her.

Cassandra chuckled, "Alright, I'll listen to what you have to say." __It's the perfect opportunity.__

Instead of chasing after the two girls Ciel decided to stay on the sidelines, ready to jump in if Cassandra made any sort of violent attempt. The Mistress' reached one of the guest bedrooms. It was really the only place they wouldn't be overheard. Cassandra shut the door behind her, causing the room to darken. It was getting late and as a result the light from the windows wasn't enough to brighten the place alone. Elizabeth picked up a match box lying on one of the bedside tables, about to light the chandelier hanging above them when she heard Cassandra giggle. It didn't sound amused, it sounded more- pleased with herself. The girl was nothing but a silhouette against the darkness of the room.

"Cassandra? What __are __you doing?" Elizabeth hissed, stepping closer to the brunette. The Mistress stayed silent, gripping something in her hand. Heart racing and fists clenched, Elizabeth dared to meet Cassandra's gaze in a challenging manner as if to say 'You don't scare me'. After a few long, drawn-out seconds of silence the brunette flung herself at Lizzy, forcing her to the ground and sending the matchbox she was holding skipping across the floor. Her head cracked against the wooden floor. It was enough to cause her vision to swim, but not to knock her out.  
Once Cassandra had Lizzy successfully pinned under her, she raised the knife she'd been hiding above her head. Elizabeth attempted to struggle, but there was no escaping. She tried to scream, but all that came out was an exasperated whimper. Cassy had her elbow pressed against Elizabeth's throat. The brunette allowed a small, sadistic chuckle to escape her lips.

"Now, where should I start?" She rested the tip of the knife on Lizzy's throat, above where her elbow was choking her, "I could kill you quickly, nice and simple, but that would be no fun, now would it?" The blade traced a line around her lips, "I could cut off those lovely lips of yours that you used to kiss __my fiancé__ with," She pressed down harder on Elizabeth's throat.

Lizzy gave a faint choking sound. It sounded like she was trying to say something, a single word.

__Ciel...__

Black spots appeared at the edges of her vision. She couldn't see; however, she was pretty sure that her 'lovely' lips were turning blue with the lack of oxygen.

__So this is the way I'm going to perish? I went down without even putting up a fight. How pathetic...__

Cassandra noticed the girl's eyes glazing over and removed her arm. In response Lizzy inhaled deeply and began to cough and splutter.

"I didn't...Kiss...Him." She managed to spit out through the coughs.

"Yes you did. I saw you!" Cassy screamed, enraged, "I knew that there was something between you two, so I followed you!"

"You bitch." Elizabeth surprised herself with the words that emitted from her mouth. She was positive that that was the first time she'd ever cursed.

The younger Mistress suddenly calmed down and tutted, "What is with this language? So unbefitting for a lady~"

Elizabeth aspired to release herself from Cassandra's grip, but her arms were pinned down by the sheer weight of the other girl. A vicious smirk surfaced on Cassy's face as she unexpectedly drove the knife into Elizabeth's shoulder, earning a strangled moan. She was determined not to cry out, no matter how much pain she was in.

Cassandra hummed as if in thought, "That just won't do. You see, I get no pleasure if you don't scream," She raised the knife again, the bloody blade glinting in the little light that was coming from the window. Just as Elizabeth was about to attempt to free herself again, pure agony shooting down her arms and across her chest, the knife came down again. This time impaling her hand. She screamed. No amount of determination could stop the pained shriek that left her lips ad the knife was mercilessly twisted.

"There's a good girl." Cassy cooed as if talking to a pet.

The door was wrenched open with such abruptness that Cassandra jumped off of Elizabeth, yanking the knife out of her flesh with her. In the few seconds in-between the door opening and someone coming in from the other side, Cassy managed to inflict a wound on herself.

"Elizabeth?!" Ciel took a second to register what had happened, "Elizabeth!" He ran to the bleeding figure on the floor, only to discover that Cassandra also had a deep stab wound on the upper part of her leg.

"C-Ciel..." She fell to the floor, seemingly weak from blood-loss, "S-she attacked me, I was just trying to defend myself."

"Sebastian!" Ciel called attempting to calm his voice. Within a second the butler had appeared by his masters side, "Take Cassandra to the infirmary, I'll handle Elizabeth." Without hesitation Sebastian said his 'Yes, my Lord,' and disappeared with a protesting Cassandra in his arms. Ciel rushed Elizabeth to a bedroom himself, her body slowly becoming limp in his arms. She had lost consciousness. He had to admit, he hadn't panicked that much in years, but he kept it concealed along with the rising anger.  
He now knew he had a killer on his hands. That wasn't the thing that caused him to feel physically sick, though. It was the fact that he could lose Elizabeth so suddenly right there.

* * *

**A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
**********I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!********


	8. Fallen Angel

**Chapter 7: Fallen Angel**

After some bandaging and plenty of rest both girls were on the road to recovery. With the help of Sebastian's demonic healing skills, they had managed to stem the bleeding and stitch the wounds before bandaging the afflicted areas the best they could. They would be fine, but the real issue on everyone's mind was; why did Cassandra strike to kill? She could've simply gotten into a fight and left it at that, but she chose not to. Ciel decided to ask Elizabeth first, after all it seemed that she was the victim and not the attacker as Cassandra had stated. It was getting harder and harder to tell if that girl was telling the truth or not by the day.

The Earl found Elizabeth wide awake, still in her bloodied clothes, sitting up in bed. She was reading a book, (struggling to turn the pages with only one practical hand,) _Great Expectations _by Charles Dickens.

"What do you think?" Ciel startled Elizabeth, causing her to drop the book, "I particularly enjoyed it myself."

Lizzy breathed out in relief, "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that." She attempted to sit up further, but ended up wincing in pain.

"Try not to move too much, you'll tear the stitches."

She sighed, "I know, I know."

There was a few seconds of silence, the two simply enjoying each other's company until Elizabeth's voice broke through.

"You don't believe her, do you?"

Ciel looked a little shocked at this and gave a bark of laughter, "Of course not. I know all of her tricks, and the way she tried to blame it on you was pathetic."

She nodded and the silence returned.

"Master? Lady Cassandra wishes to see you." Sebastian called from the doorway.

Ciel let go of a sigh, "I'll be back to check on you later." And with that, he left.

"I'm not a child..." Lizzy mumbled, but a small smile forced the corners of her lips upwards.

Out of nowhere an idea popped into her head. It was mischievous; however, she felt that it may benefit her in some way or another.

She was going to spy on Ciel and Cassandra.

It was despicable, she knew, but some small part of her urged her on. Ignoring the little voice in the back of her head telling her that it was a bad idea, she proceeded with her plan.

First things first, she had to actually make it out of bed without causing further harm to herself. Burning pain seared down her arms and spread across her chest, only it wasn't as bad as it was before. With all the strength she could muster she pushed herself out of the bedroom door, listening for footsteps. Every step released a new wave of pain. There was no way she was giving up now though. She was strong, and that bitch made her look weak. She would get her own back, eventually, but this would have to do for now.

Finally making it to Cassy's bedroom door that had been, lucky for her, left ajar, Lizzy peeked through to find exactly what she had expected;

Ciel was standing a good distance from Cassandra whilst she sat on the edge of the bed pawing over him. Looking up to him with sadistic yet lustful eyes. Elizabeth couldn't contain a disgusted groan at the scene before her.

The eyes sharp enough to cut through stone belonging to the girl Elizabeth so hated flicked to meet hers. A pump of adrenaline rushed through her veins, forcing her heart to race. The Mistress readied herself to run, all the muscles in her body rigid.

Out of nowhere and without making a sound, Cassandra maintained eye-contact with Elizabeth as she grabbed the front of Ciel's shirt.

And kissed him.

Ciel emitted a surprised noise and attempted to pull away, but her grip was extraordinarily strong. The whole of Lizzy's face burned red. Kissing him would anger her enough. But, no. The thing that caused the most overwhelming fury she'd ever experienced was the fact that Cassandra kept her eyes on her the whole time. Mocking and humiliating her.

When Cassandra finally moved away and released the front of Ciel's shirt, Elizabeth ran as fast as her legs would carry her. The pain from her wound damn-near caused her to black out, but she kept going with the little determination she had left. It was nothing compared to the agony in her heart. She bit down hard on her lip to resist crying out. She was blinded by rage, nothing was clear. Everything was blurred into one big mess. As a result, she ran into something rock-solid, sending her sprawling backwards.

"My Lady, is everything-?"

"Get out of my way!" Elizabeth screamed, sending a fresh wave of tears rolling down her cheeks. Sebastian, completely perplexed by the Mistress' outburst, made no move to stop her as she threw herself through a door, flinging it shut behind her. Lizzy sat on the edge of the bed, every beat of her heart making her head throb.

She had been sitting with her head in her hands, plotting what kind of demise Cassandra was going to face, when she came to a realization. She was better than this. The reaction she had just given, that was exactly what Cassandra wanted from her. She wanted Elizabeth to suffer, whether it was physical, mental or emotional, and Elizabeth wasn't about to let that happen. If this is what Cassy wanted then she would go to all lengths to make sure she never had the pleasure of obtaining it. She wasn't weak, God-dammit. She was stronger than she'd ever been in her life and just about as strong as she was going to get.

The door eerily creaked open, revealing a tall figure with blue-black hair and icy-blue eyes. Lizzy fiercely scrubbed at her eyes; however, her efforts to erase any evidence that she had been crying was in vain.

"You are crying, Mistress." Zavier knelt down in front of her, whipping out a lace handkerchief to dab her face with. When he tried to wipe her tears she snapped her head away.

"Don't." She attempted to say sternly. Her voice wobbled.

Zavier scrunched his eyebrows together and returned the handkerchief to his pocket.

"You have never cried since I have been at your service, Mistress. Something must truly be the matter." He was either extremely worried or a damn good actor.

"It's nothing that should concern you, Zavier."

"Then, it is Lady Cassandra, I presume?" He tilted his head, his eyes meeting with Elizabeth's.

She exhaled, "How did you know?"

He smiled wryly, "It's written all over your face, my Lady."

Elizabeth looked away, fighting the urge to burst into tears again.

"I could 'take care' of her if you wish, my Lady." His gaze darkened, flicking to the dried blood staining several places on her once pristine dress.

"'Take care' of her?" She sounded skeptical.

Zavier bowed his head and gently took her injured hand in his.

"She has sinned too many times to be forgiven," He smirked, "I'd say that the only suitable punishment is-"

"Zavier, I appreciate you trying to help me, but I'd never have anyone killed for revenge. It's stupi- wrong." She pulled her hand away, "Besides, you're no better. Why weren't you there to help me? I could have died!"

Zavier stood and looked down to the Mistress, a dangerous glint in his eye and a small smile on his face.

"I knew that you were going to live, so I decided not to intervene."

Lizzy gave him a look that said '_are you _kidding _me?!_'.

Zavier's eyes moved to the doorway. There was a small shadow, defiantly a woman's, coming from the other side of the door.

"I must excuse myself, my Lady. I have other duties to attend to."

As the butler walked out of the room, Cassandra entered. The two shared a glance, like they were sharing a secret that only they knew. Zavier winked at Cassy as she went past. Or maybe it was just Elizabeth's imagination.

"Get out." She put simply, keeping her voice at a level tone. It would seem that she was calm to any outsider, but to somebody that knew her well it was a different story.

"I wanted to apologize, Elizabeth." Her eyes were filled with something Elizabeth thought she'd never in a million years see from the girl. Guilt. However, there was no way of telling if she was speaking truthfully. Again, either she was truly sorry or a damn good actor. Elizabeth felt like she couldn't trust anyone in the household anymore, except for the servants, maybe.

Elizabeth stood, her chin up and expression severely solemn. The tiny glint of mistrust and infuriation in her eyes was the only emotion left on the girls face. She was ready to fight back if Cassy tried anything this time. The taciturnity in the room was enough to warn the brunette of her intentions.

"I really am sorry, Lizzy." Her voice quivered. She was on the brink of tears.

"Don't call me that." Her glare burned into the other girl, "I won't allow anybody to call me that anymore." _Except Ciel._

A few seconds of silence.

"You're not sorry." Elizabeth's voice was melancholy, almost as if there was no emotion left to behold.

"I am! I don't know what came over me, I just- I..." She broke down, covering her face with both her hands. Elizabeth was very nearly becoming anxious for the defeated figure in front of her. Her expression softened considerably.

_Get a hold of yourself! _She cursed herself mentally, _She's tricking you, idiot!_

Lizzy released all of her tension on one long sigh before allowing a small chuckle to escape her lips. All at once, she threw her head back and started to laugh. It continued to increase until it became uncontrollable. Cassandra removed her hands from her face, concern evident in her expression.

_She probably thinks I've gone mad! _

Her own statement caused her to crack up even more to the point where a single tear fell down her face. She recovered herself and abruptly reverted to a tranquil daze.

"You would make a good actress, you know."

"What?"

"Do you really think your little act is going to fool me?!" Elizabeth clenched her good hand into a fist.

"No! I really am trying to apologize!" She dropped her eyes, "Ciel-"

"Ciel is making you do this?" A lazy bark of laughter, "Well, what do you think he thinks of you now, hmm?" The words involuntarily spouted from her mouth. There was so much Elizabeth had wanted to say and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to say it.

"Ciel loves me!" Cassy's voice cracked, speaking through gritted teeth, "And I love him!"

"Oh, really?" An icy smirk surfaced on the usually so innocent-looking face.

"Anyway..." The brunettes voice suddenly took on a dark tone, "You don't have the _right _to love him."

"W-what?!" She snapped out of her tranquil state as the reality of the situation hit her.

"Because, I love him more than you!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?!" She frantically scrambled for a response, "I don't love Ciel. I-I hate him!"

"Elizabeth..."

_Oh no._

Ciel stood in the doorway, his face a picture of betrayal. It was Cassy's turn to laugh.

"So, the truth has come out." A cat-like grin slowly spread across her face, "Good luck~" She sang as she sashayed out of the room in a victorious manner.

Ciel's face had become as blank as a canvas. There was no telling what he was feeling anymore. Anger? Hurt? Betrayal?

"Ciel, how much of that did you hear?"

"Enough."

She shook her head, "I didn't-" He had disappeared, "mean it..."

She resumed the position on the bed she had been in before Zavier had come in. Head in hands and eyes closed.

"It's just one bad thing after another..."

* * *

"_You realize how big of a responsibility it is __to bear?"_

"_Yes." _

"_And you still wish to become one of my kind?" The man raised his eyebrows._

"_Yes!" _

"_Then I need you to do something for me."_

"_Anything!"_

"_Kill Ciel Phantomhive. I will take care of the demon."_

"_Kill Ciel Phantomhive?" She repeated. She thought over it for a second, "Agreed." _

_He chuckled lowly, "That's what I like to hear." _

"_They are impure." She growled._

"_Yes, that is why they must go," He smirked inhumanly, "Snuff out the unnecessary, the unclean, the unwanted; snuff them out! End them!"_

* * *

**A/N: Poor Lizzy, I feel so bad for making this happen to her T-T Anyway, guys, I'd love to hear who you think the conversation is between! It's always fun to read your feelings on the situation. ^-^  
**You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
**********I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!********  
**


	9. Could This Be Love?

**IMPORTANT NOTICE:**

**Cassy and Sebastian's shipping name is Sassy.**

**Continue.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Could This Be Love?**

After gathering up all f her courage and willpower, Elizabeth was ready to put it all to good use and face her former fiancé. In front of her stood the tall double-doors leading to Ciel's study. With a seconds hesitation she knocked -and waited.

"Come in." The voice beckoned her. Letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, she flung the doors open and strode confidently over to his desk. She didn't feel confident at all, in fact, she was abut ready to run out of the room there and then. Honestly, she'd never felt like that before and it almost scared her. If her emotions couldn't talk for her, then maybe her body-language would.

"Ciel, I wanted to-"

"Elizabeth. Come, look at this for a moment." He slid a paper over for her to look at.

"Okay..." She scrunched her eyebrows together as she stared cluelessly at the printing, "I don't understand. What does it say?" The block writing was in a language unfathomable to her.

"That's the problem, I don't know." Ciel twiddled the quill he was holding between his thumb and fore-finger going over the paper once more. Lizzy exhaled sharply, sudden frustration rising up inside of her.

"How are you acting like nothing has happened?!" She gasped at the words that had involuntarily spilled from her lips and slapped her hand over her mouth. Softly laying the quill down on the desk, Ciel brought himself from his chair.

"I believe a walk would be most appropriate, don't you think?" He flashed a barely-there smile.

Swallowing down her anger, Elizabeth objected, "But it's quite late. It will be getting dark soon."

"No matter. We have two demons to call to our aid. What's the worst that could happen?"

She thought over it for a second, "I suppose..."

"Then it's settled, I'll have Sebastian start making preparations."

* * *

The moon was curved like a grin on its side. It glowed far brighter than Elizabeth had ever seen before, illuminating the Autumn trees around them with its pale light. The sound of shoes crunching against gravel filled the icy air. Nothing but that -and the occasional titter of an animal- was all that could be heard. Elizabeth watched tiny puffs of white escape her lips. The tip of her nose and cheeks were bright red, but she didn't mind it all that much. A sudden gust of frigid wind blew against her fragile body, causing her to shiver despite the animal fur coat she was wearing. Ciel's one azure eye, which seemed to glow along with the moon, instantly stuck to the Mistress. Without a word he shrugged off he black overcoat he was wearing and draped it over Lizzy. She pulled it around her tightly with a minute smile and whispered a quiet, "Thank you." A few seconds of silence passed before anyone spoke again.

"Regarding what you asked earlier," The Earl started. Elizabeth looked up to him, searching for his eyes, but he merely looked straight ahead, "I know that what you said wasn't true. I was just a little shocked at hearing those words coming from you." The corner of his lip pulled up, "I never thought that I'd hear you say that you hate me, that's all." Elizabeth's eyes immediately dropped to the ground, slightly embarrassed with herself and a little flustered.

"I see..."She sighed, sending a cloud of white bursting from her lips. Out of nowhere a short laugh emitted from the girl. Ciel's eyes cut sideways to look at her questioningly.

"I honestly can't believe that Cassandra stabbed herself and then tried to blame it on me." She shook her head slowly, "You would think that she thought we were born yesterday." She added faintly. Elizabeth swore she could have heard a hushed chuckle from Ciel.

"It would seem that way, yes." Another gust of chilly air made Elizabeth shiver for the second time, "You're still cold?" Ciel raised an eyebrow, "We should return you home, then." Elizabeth nodded once in agreement and looked about her. The stretching shadows of the trees gave off an eerie, but peaceful feel. She heard Ciel make a noise between a tired groan and a sigh.

"What's wrong?" She clutched at the overcoat around her shoulders.

"I don't recognize this place at all." He frowned deeply.

Lizzy gave a small 'oh', "Well, I'll just call for Zavier. He'll be able to take us back." She opened her mouth again to call for her butler.

"No, wait." Ciel interrupted.

"Why? Do you hear somethi-?" A gloved pair of hands softly grabbed her waist. She realized that the hands that were pulling her closer belonged to Ciel.

Out of instinct, she placed her hands on his shoulders and met his sapphire eye. Elizabeth's heart started to beat so fast that she thought it would beat straight out of her chest. It pounded hard against her ribcage as she noticed the lustful and mischievous glint in his eye. She swallowed. Her insides were melting, sending a pleasant tingle rushing up her spine. She wanted to say something, but her body froze, not even her mouth was willing to move.

There was nothing but a sliver of air between them. The gap was abruptly closed as Ciel crashed his lips to hers. Lizzy gave a soft gasp into the kiss, her whole body was flooded with warmth.

Although the air around them was freezing, the unexpected kiss caused extreme heat to radiate from the two. At first his lips were soft on hers as if she could be easily broken. But soon the kisses became heated and hungry, like he was deprived of something only Elizabeth had.

It was wrong, he was a soon-to-be-married man, though it somehow felt so right to her, to both of them. Elizabeth's arms snaked their way around Ciel's neck and she tangled her hands in his awkward blue-grey hair. He tasted just like the sweets he loved so much and it made her want more.

Alas, they finally had to part to breath. Elizabeth slowly cracked open her eyes to see Ciel, normally so composed, blushing and breathing heavily. His eyepatch had come undone, revealing his violet contracted eye. Her whole face was burning and her breathing came out in quick pants. The intense atmosphere died down as the two reluctantly moved away from each-other.

"Perhaps... I should stay another night..." She said between breaths, "Just to be safe..."

Ciel nodded once his breathing had returned to normal, "I think that should be alright."

* * *

The two ended up having to be carried back by Zavier, much to their dismay. The demon jumped from tree-top to tree-top, roof to roof until they had returned to the manor. Luckily, Cassandra was already asleep and had apparently asked no questions regarding Ciel's whereabouts.

Sebastian, as observant as always, watched the couple walk down one of the winding hallways together and took note of a few tell-tale signs.

"I do wonder of Young Master brings trouble upon himself on purpose." Sebastian smirked, addressing the other butler standing besides him.

"I wonder the same of my Mistress. Lady Cassandra will find out about what happened sooner or later." Zavier tilted his head and frowned.

"Yes, I doubt she will react well."

"Humans are extremely interesting, do you not think?" Zavier's frown upturned into a smirk.

"Indeed, I do."

* * *

Lizzy sat on the edge of her bed for the night, playing with a stray strand of hair. Whilst Ciel had gone off to order Sebastian for some warm milk, she thought about what had happened. She had kissed Ciel and fully well knew she had, but the reality of it was taking its time dawning on her. She should have been panicking; however, she was lost in a blissful trance of happiness. And she didn't care at all.

Elizabeth started when Sebastian arrived with her warm milk and honey. Hearing how much Ciel used to drink it before bed or after one of his night terrors made her want to try it. She gave a small 'thank you' and with a bow the butler left. Not long after Ciel entered the room, shutting the door behind him and setting himself down in a plush single-seated chair. There was some silence before he shattered it with something completely unexpected.

"I want to break off the engagement with Cassandra."

Elizabeth almost choked on her drink, "Really? Why?" It was only after she had said it that she realized just how eager she had sounded.

"Elizabeth, you and I both know what she's capable of and I don't want to have to deal with her spontaneous behaviour anymore. I'm sure you don't either."

"I suppose you're right," She breathed, "I'm positive that she'll try every which-way to talk you out of it though."

"Yes, it's going to be difficult." He sighed and rubbed his temples. Just the thought of having to deal with the temper-tantrum that was most definitely coming his way gave Ciel a headache.

"When are you planning to do it?" Elizabeth inquired softly.

"Tomorrow, at the least." He inhaled sharply, "Also, don't feel guilty about what happened, it's my fault, not yours."

Elizabeth's cheeks flushed red. Whilst she was worrying about whether or not Ciel had seen her blushing through the dimness of the room, said boy removed himself from the chair and started to head out of the room.

"Goodnight, Elizabeth."

"Ciel."

He turned his head lazily to meet Elizabeth's gaze.

"Call me Lizzy." Her voice sounded extremely shy. It reminded him a lot of how she used to be and brought a minute smile to the Earls face.

"Goodnight, _Lizzy._" Her name was spoken like sugar on his tongue.

It was only after he left that she managed to whisper, "Goodnight, Ciel."

* * *

"You're calling off the engagement _now_?!" Cassandra asked incredulously, "It's only a month until we're married!"

To Ciel's surprise, Cassy hadn't actually tried to kill him yet _and _she was acting far more devastated than angry. He had to admit, this was really strange, even for her.

"Yes, Cassandra. I can't marry you." Ciel tensed up, bracing himself for the worst. Just like that, all of the emotion on her face slipped right off, leaving a blank sheet behind.

"Okay."

Ciel seemed taken aback for a moment, "I thought that you would be angrier than this." He mumbled mostly to himself.

"No, no. I understand. You're in love with _her._" Her voice had gone scarily calm. It made Ciel wonder if she was just a ticking time-bomb waiting to blow up at the worst possible time. Which, Ciel thought, was probably the case, "Excuse me." Cassandra left for the dining area, which at that moment being set for dinner. Ciel was left at a standstill in complete taciturnity for a few instants. Suddenly (scaring the living daylights out of anybody near by) there was a eardrum-shattering crash followed by a shriek of fury.

There was the reaction Ciel had been expecting.

More crashes filled the air -she was probably throwing dishes to the floor- and then several indignant screeches of, "Let _go _of me!"

Ciel didn't even want to know what damage had been done, but he supposed that he had to go and see if Cassy had inflicted any harm upon herself. As soon as he entered the dining room Cassy lunged at him, only to be yanked back by Zavier. The Earl stood, wide eyed, staring at the destruction she had caused in a mere thirty seconds. The table had been flipped over along with most of the chairs. The plates and silverware were all on the floor, every plate smashed to pieces. There was also blood staining numerous places on the carpet. Cassandra had, as expected, injured herself in some way. A considerable amount of cuts adorned her hands where the plate and glass shards had managed to nick her.

"Zavier, calm her down." Ciel ordered. He didn't know what much else he could say.

"Of course, my Lord." He replied as he lead (dragged) the Mistress out of the room to somewhere not so messy, "Might I say, you have an obscure amount of strength for a human." His tone assuredly sounded rather impressed.

"Shut up!"

Once the teen had been safely 'escorted' from the room Ciel allowed his hand to come to his forehead and exhaled slowly.

"You told her, then." Elizabeth stood in the doorway. She was in just about as much shock as he was.

"Yes..." The Earl looked down at his hand. A beauteous diamond ring stood out against his pale skin. His engagement ring, "Sebastian." He beckoned his butler, twisting the ring off his finger. In an instant the butler was by his side.

"My Lord?" His eyes set on the gleaming ring that his master was holding out to him.

"Dispose of it immediately."

"Is this not your engagement ring, my Lord?" Keeping his face blank, he took the ring carefully and held it between his thumb and fore-finger.

"Don't make me repeat my order." The young Lord attempted to sound strict, but his voice came out sounding more tired than anything.

Sebastian bowed deeply, resisting the urge to smirk, "I will tale care of it, my Lord."

Once the room was empty, bar Sebastian and several broken plates, the demon crushed the diamond between his fingers with no strain at all and let the dust float gracefully to the ground.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is so late... I can explain, I swear D: I've been really ill so I just couldn't brain for a while... ^-^"  
Anyway...  
**You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
**********I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!********  
**


	10. Murder

**A/N: Oh my gosh, it's been so long! Yes, chapter 9 is here :D Just letting you know now, the updates aren't going to be a regular thing. I'm trying my hardest, I swear! **

* * *

**Chapter 9: Murder**

Following Cassandra's leave from the mansion, (after many failed attempts to stall it,) nothing was really heard from her. She had been moved back in with her parents -which had taken at least a week- to everyone's surprise, she made no pursuit to get back in contact with the Earl; however, something did seem odd. Nobody was really acting the way they used to when she was around. It was almost as if her mere presence -or absence- had changed the atmosphere completely. Although, it most probably had been for the best. No-one in the household was especially on edge anymore, but there was definitely something missing.  
Everything was just beginning to go back to 'normal' in the Phantomhive manor. In the Midford manor, on the other hand, things had started to get messy. Elizabeth's family were constantly whispering to each other when they suspected that she wasn't around. Whenever the Mistress walked into a room it suddenly fell silent. Countless times she had asked what was wrong, and countless times she had gotten an answer brushing it off as 'nothing'. There was something that she hadn't been told and she knew it. Elizabeth was just about on the edge of insanity. She needed to talk to Ciel, to find out if he was involved with it too. To her convenience, a few days after the secretive mumbling started, her family received an invitation to dinner at the Phantomhive manor. Of course, they agreed to go, thinking that there must be a matter of importance at hand if he was inviting the whole family. So, with some reluctance from Edward, which was to be expected, they made their departure for the evening.

Sebastian greeted them at the door, welcoming them and offering to take their outerwear. Not long after that, a rather on-edge Ciel ushered them in and lead them into the drawing room, where they sat and talked for a good half hour, sipping on tea. Elizabeth strayed away from the conversation and just mumbled a simple 'yes' or 'no' if she was asked something. Looking up from her lap, Lizzy's eyes met Ciel's. She noted that, whilst he seemed to be trying his best to hide it, there was anxiety clearly visible on his pale face. Wondering what could possibly be making him so nervous, she cut her eyes sideways to glance at Sebastian, who had interrupted the buzz of voices with his own.

"Would you please come through to the dining area, dinner is served." He simpered, holding his arm out in the right direction.

With dinner out of the way, the five, excluding Sebastian, Zavier and the four other servants, sat around the mahogany table, three of the five sharing timid glances.

"So, Earl," Francis broke the silence, drawing the attention to her, "Do tell why you brought us here, tonight." She smiled warmly and patted Alexis' hand, who was already beginning to fill up. As Ciel got out of his seat, breathing out slowly, Elizabeth's eyes darted around the room and landed on Ciel as though she had been daydreaming.

"Elizabeth." The Earl was now standing behind her with a smile on his face. He pulled out her chair for her before holding out his hand, which she dazedly took, and helping her up. Still completely oblivious to what was going on, though she knew it must be big by the looks on everyone's faces, Elizabeth allowed herself to be lead to a spot further away from the dining table. Ciel only let go of her hand to reach into his pocket. Out of nowhere, the Mistress became flustered and butterfly's danced around in her stomach. She had a good idea of what was coming next. Having successfully retrieved what he was searching for, Ciel brought himself down to one knee.  
Now, most girls at this point would squeal with joy at what was about to happen; however, Lizzy did not. In fact, she wanted to completely vanish from existence. The suddenness of the situation had hit her like a ton of bricks and left her panicky and unsure of what to do or say. Here she was, in front of so many people, about to be asked the most important question of a young girls life -and although she had planned the moment out several times in her head as a child- she was stuck on how to react. Her mind had gone blank. So, she reacted as any other girl would.  
She grinned, clasped her hands together and allowed tears to surface in her beautiful celadon eyes. The Earl showed a rather attractive half-smile as he brought the small black box forward and lifted the lid. It revealed a glimmering emerald on the surface of a silver ring. Elizabeth's heart stopped as she took in the beauty of it. He had picked out an emerald to match the colour of her eyes, she suspected. It mad her stomach flutter, her heart to almost burst with pure joy.  
Forgetting everything and everyone around her, except for Ciel, she realized that she wanted this. She wanted it more than anything. All the memories of her as a young girl planning her perfect wedding, imagining picking out the cutest dress and marrying her one and only true love came rushing back to her; she found that the little girl was still inside of her, that she was her. And at that moment, she knew what her heart was telling her to do.

"I know that this is sudden, but I figured that now is as good a time as any." Ciel took a deep breath, "Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford, will you marry me?"

She could finally bring him true happiness.

"Ciel..."

Just by becoming his Wife.

"Y-yes."

And watching over him for the rest of their lives.

"Yes, I will marry you!" A grin bigger than any she had ever shown spread across Lizzy's face. As for Ciel, what he had just performed must have been the most nerve-wracking thing he'd ever done. His insides warmed at her words as he stood to engulf her in an embrace. With ever-so-slightly shaky hands, Ciel removed the ring from its position on the cushion and set it in its rightful place; on his soon-to-be wife's finger.  
It was only after the bubble around them that concealed them from the rest of the world burst that the two made sense of everyone reacting around them. Francis was smiling warmly, Alexis sobbing uncontrollably along with Finny and Mey-Rin, Bard gave a toothy grin and flashed a thumbs up at his master, Sebastian was -of course- smirking and Edward didn't seem too happy at all. It wasn't a big surprise, even after all these years Lizzy's older brother just couldn't bring himself to like the Earl. One person stood out in particular. Not that anyone had noticed, but Zavier was scowling, angry flames flickering in his eyes. He seemed frustrated with the situation, like he had a plan that revolved around whether the two were to be married or not, and Ciel proposing had foiled it.  
After the sobs had ceased, the family congratulated the two, including the servants. All of the attention was really getting to the couple. A faint blush spread across Lizzy's face as she accepted the congratulations.  
And so, the two were destined to be Husband and Wife.

* * *

"There's...no way..." A certain brunette hiccuped in-between tears.

"Why are you so upset?" Zavier narrowed his azure eyes, "I thought you only meant to use him, nothing more."

Cassandra wiped uselessly at the stream of tears and clenched her teeth, "He wanted to be with her the whole time we were together," She slammed her fist down, "Why?!"

"...My Lady, I understand that you are quite shaken by the sudden turn of events -it's definitely going to interfere with our plans- but, why, may I ask?" His tone became suspicious. There was certainly more to the relationship between Ciel and Cassandra than he had anticipated.

"I can't do it, Zavier!" A sudden outburst, "I can't!"

The butler scowled, "You mean to tell me that you are planning to breach the contract?"

"I can't kill him... I think-" She raised her voice a couple of octaves, "I think I love hi-!"

_SNAP!_

Zavier released his grip on either side of the mistress' head and her now lifeless body fell with a soft 'thump' to the floor. "God, forgive me." he touched his fingers to his forehead before tracing a cross upon his chest. Tilting his head with a small, curious frown, Zavier gave a glance to Cassy's grief-stricken face, a tear slowly trickling down her pale cheek, and sighed as though her death was simply a minor annoyance. "Even if I am a master of manipulation, I suppose the best course of action is to make this scene look a little less... suspicious."

* * *

Ciel shuffled through his received mail for the day, boredom hanging over him like a shadow. There was nothing but invitations to parties that he'd rather jump off the top of the manor than attend and business propositions that he had no choice but to refuse. Just as he'd decided that he'd had enough and was about to throw the pile down onto his desk, a small, white letter with a black border and scrawled handwriting caught his eye. A funeral invitation. With raised eyebrows, the Earl scanned over the writing. His heart skipped a beat as he read who the funeral was for. None other than Cassandra Pierce. According to whomever had written the letter, she had died from an illness that had been riving in her body for as long as they could remember. Strange, really.  
As soon as he had processed the fact that Cassandra was no more, no longer a problem to him or anyone else, his screwed the paper up with a small smirk on his face and tossed it into a near-by bin. Of course, as soon as he'd finished dealing with the pesky invitation, another letter stood out from the rest. Assuming it was a letter from the Queen -which it turned out to be- he sliced it open and silently read the whole thing before allowing a reaction. As to be expected, he had been asked to investigate Cassandra's death, for it was no illness that had befallen her.

"Sebastian." Ciel stood and spoke for the first time in what seemed like hours. A headache was already forming at the idea of having to see his former fiancée again.

"My Lord?" In a matter of seconds, Sebastian was by his side, a knowing smile on his face.

"Prepare a carriage. It seems we have another case to investigate."

Ciel stifled a gasp and swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. Yes, he'd seen corpses like this before, but it was always the body of a stranger, never somebody he knew and had known for a considerable amount of time. The bone-white corpse of the Earl's former fiancée hung from the ceiling, a thick cord of rope restraining her neck. Around the rope, her neck was bruised and bleeding from the indents of the impact. Her mouth hung wide open, a trail of saliva running down her chin. The worst part was her eyes. They were wide open, her eyeballs rolled to the back of her head so that only the whites could be seen.  
With a deep breath and a stony expression, Ciel took a few hesitant steps towards the corpse, "This was clearly a suicide. Why on earth would I be the one called out to investigate this?" He frowned.

"My Lord, you may want to look further into this," Ciel could hear the smirk in Sebastian's voice, "Sometimes looks can be deceiving."

The teen let out a low grunt, "Get her down."

As graceful as ever, Sebastian released the rope around Cassandra's neck and lay her body to the floor. A series of almost inaudible crackling sounds could be heard as her head was lay down last. Raising an eyebrow, the Earl knelt down next to her and lay his fingers on the red welt around her neck, pushing down as if to feel the bone.

"Her neck is broken..." His eyebrows furrowed together, "It's possible for the bone to snap from the impact, surely."

A small chuckle escaped the butlers lips, "Oh no, my Lord. This was no suicide."

Ciel sighed, "So, it was a murder?"

"Precisely."

The young lord looked over his butler for a few seconds, "There's something you're not telling me."

Sebastian simply gave a smug smirk.

"You know who killed her, don't you?" Ciel asked, his voice stern.

Sebastian hummed thoughtfully, "I'd rather refrain from telling you, that would be too easy." He smiled, "Unless, of course, you ordered me too, but that would just prove that you're not as good a detective as you think you are." His voice took on a teasing tone.

"Tch," Ciel looked away from Sebastian with an angry glint in his eye, "Of course I can solve this," He smirked, looking his butler in the eye, "I know exactly who did it."

* * *

**A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
**********I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!********


	11. You May Now Kiss The Bride

**Chapter 10: You May Now Kiss The Bride**

"Wait, she's dead?!

Elizabeth and Ciel had spent the day together. Of course, Lizzy thought it was just another date with her soon-to-be husband, but the whole time Ciel was attempting to tell her about Cassandra. One thing after another came up and he'd never had the chance, until now.

"I'm afraid so. It's a suspected suicide." Ciel propped his head up on one of his hands.

Lizzy gave a puzzled look, "Then why have you been called in to investigate?"

"That's just the thing, " Ciel smirked slightly, "It wasn't a suicide."

"A murder?" The young girl looked surprised, "But who would want to murder h-" She gasped, "Ciel, you didn't... did you?"

Ciel blanched, "Of course not, even as much as I wanted to."

Lizzy sighed in relief, "That's okay, then. When do you have to start investigating?"

The Earl looked as though he was avoiding telling her something.

"Ciel," Lizzy's look became one of worry, "what's wrong?" She reached across to place her hand across his as a comforting gesture.

"Tomorrow." Ciel mentally braced himself for impact.

"Tomorrow...?" Elizabeth snatched her hand away, "But, the wedding is tomorrow." She stood up from her chair and spoke with evident hurt in her voice, "Ciel, our wedding is _tomorrow!_"

He stood up after her, "I know, but it's the Queen's orders-"

Elizabeth unexpectedly snapped, tears welling in her eyes, "I don't care if it's the Queen's orders! It's like you care more about your bloody work than me!"

Ciel froze, he hadn't seen Lizzy react like this since she'd returned about a year ago, "No." He took her hands in his, "I do care about you, Lizzy, more than anything."

The girl visibly calmed and looked down at the floor, suddenly embarrassed with her actions, "I know, Ciel." She whispered.

"I'll try to do something about it, okay?" Ciel's expression softened considerably.

"Okay..." She sighed softly, "How long will you be gone for?"

"I can't say. I know it'll be for a long while, though." After a few seconds of silence, Ciel cupped her face, wiping away a tear with his thumb, "Are you okay now?"

She nodded, blushing lightly, "I guess it was just all the built-up anxiety for tomorrow."

A small smile appeared on Ciel's face before he kissed her gently, then rested his forehead against hers, "Don't worry, it's going to be fine."

* * *

"You may now kiss the bride."

That was it. The two were now happily married and had many more wonderful years to come. Lizzy had never seen such tenderness in Ciel's eyes before as she had then. As the two walked back down the aisle, hand in hand, they were happier than they had ever been. Cheers arose from the family and friends that had joined them in the ceremony, quite a few of them still in tears.  
It was late, they had to postpone the wedding until a later time, much to everyone's dismay, but now, under the star-lit sky, the two had joined together, never to be separated for as long as they lived.  
And so, the after-party started. After accepting many congratulations from the party-goers the two decided to spend some time together on the balcony. As the two sat together, Lizzy curling up to Ciel whilst he absent mindedly played with her hair, she looked at him. Really looked at him. It had been so long since she had been able to spend time with him like this, completely in peace and quiet. She took in how beautiful he really was. The shadows across his face gave him an eerie, but alluring look. His awkward bluey-grey hair fell into his face as he turned his head to look up at the shimmering stars. It had gotten a lot longer and now reached his shoulders. Lizzy sighed contently, "I wish we could stay like this forever." This got no response from the Earl, just a look of sorrow that quickly passed. Elizabeth decided to ignore this, she wasn't going to ruin the mood right after their wedding, "Ciel, there's something I never really found out, you know."

At this, Ciel looked to her in question, "And what's that?" He asked gently.

"How did you and Cassandra end up engaged?" It was just an innocent question, but it brought flashbacks of his past fiancee's corpse back to Ciel, making him inwardly wince.

"A couple of months after you disappeared, I tracked your location back to Lord Druitt," he spoke slowly, watching his wording as though not to trigger any bad memories, "But, before I could get any information from him, he was killed."

"Who killed him?" She gasped lightly.

"Death Gods, he was due to die seconds after they killed him, anyway." He sighed, "It turns out that he was trafficking young girls, so we attempted to find the others. When we found the room, the only one left was Cassandra."

"She was in a cage?"

"Yes, she looked a lot different to the way she did when we knew her"

"How so?" Elizabeth tried to rack her memory, "I remember a girl called Cassandra that I was..." She struggled to say the next part.

"Put into a cage with?" Ciel raised an eyebrow, but Lizzy could see the sympathy in his eyes.

"Y-yes..." She looked uncomfortable, "Ciel, you don't think Cassy was... in the cage with me?"

__"Cassy, no! Cassandra, help me, please!"__

_"___I'm sorry..." __

Lizzy suddenly felt weak, "It was her..."

"Lizzy, it couldn't have been her." He offered, though he knew that it was most likely. Definite, even.

Elizabeth took a abrupt deep breath and shook her head, "It doesn't matter now. There's no use getting upset over it." She managed a small smile. A few minutes passed before anyone spoke again.

"Then, can I ask you a question?" A smirk surfaced on the face of the Young Lord.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and giggled at his expression, "Of course."

"Where is your contract seal located?" He blushed very slightly, the darkness concealing it. Who knew where that thing could have been placed.

"Contract seal? I'm supposed to have one of those? On my body? How strange..."

Ciel swallowed, _just as I thought..._

"How about we go and join the others?" He smiled lightly, changing the subject.

Lizzy gave a tiny smile back before giving him a quick kiss, "That sounds like a good idea."

* * *

"My Lord, may I speak with you for a minute?" Sebastian simpered as he closed the study door behind him.

"I suppose," Ciel set his paperwork down, "What do you want?"

All of a sudden the atmosphere in the room became icy, hostile, even. The butlers sickly-sweet smile changed to one of malice. Ciel's breath hitched in his throat, "Sebastian?"

"My Lord, have you forgotten that we are currently in a contract?" The demon took long, graceful steps towards his master.

Ciel scoffed, "Of course not! What is this about, anyway?" he growled, even though he had a good idea of what was about to come out of his butlers mouth.

"You claim that you cannot feel love and yet you show absurd amounts of affection towards Lady Elizabeth," For once, a frown formed on Sebastian's face as his eyes began to shine a brighter, more unsettling red.

The Young Lord swallowed, "What are you saying?"

"I'm simply saying that I've noticed you drawing out your time here in the mortal world. I believe you told me that you know exactly who killed Cassandra, and yet you've made no move on your statement. My stay with you is coming to an end," An icy smirk spread across his face, "I assume it's because of your wife, correct?" Before Ciel could say anything, he was shushed with a glare in his direction, one that sent chills down his spine, "You shouldn't get attached to her, My Lord."

"And why's that?" He spat, "My relationships should not be any concern to you!"

"Your time here is limited, Young Master. The love you feel for her is purifying your soul."

"What do I care?! I'm not the one that's going to eat it!" Ciel was fuming now. How dare his own butler talk to him with such disrespect?!

"Will it not be more difficult to part from this world when you have to leave someone behind? You maintained detachment from many people who have passed through your life, so wouldn't it be a shame to let something as trivial as _love_ stop you now-? " Within a split-second, the Earls hand had made contact with his butlers cheek, sending a cracking noise though the room.

"Get out," Ciel slammed his clenched hand down on his desk, "Get out, now!"

Sebastian touched his hand to the red mark on his face before showing a slight look of anger and- defeat. "As you wish, My Lord." He bowed before leaving, glaring the whole time.

Ciel sat back down in his chair and exhaled slowly, "Damn demon..."

* * *

**A/N: You guys can leave questions for Dan and I or even the characters in the reviews. We will gladly answer them! :3  
**********I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to write more if people are enjoying my writing and thank you to my amazing co-writer Dan (Don'tJudgeMeByMySocks) See you in the next chapter!********


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